


Fighting Dreamers: The Nine Tails of the Will of Fire

by ItsYourLife



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, BAMF Tenten (Naruto), BAMF Yamanaka Ino, Big Brother Uchiha Itachi, Feminist Themes, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Good Orochimaru (Naruto), Good Uchiha Itachi, Good Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi Needs a Hug, Hurt/Comfort, Naruto X oc - Freeform, Naruto x female oc, Parent Umino Iruka, Parental Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi Being a Good Brother, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, anti konoha, female oc - Freeform, female oc on team Seven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 33,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29031009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsYourLife/pseuds/ItsYourLife
Summary: They are the Konoha 15. They hate alot of things, and they love alot of things. Their likes? Friendship, teamwork, fun and getting stronger. Their dislikes? Oppression, injustice and sexism. They have a dream that will one day become a reality. But they won't be able to make it one without a fight. AU rewrite of Naruto with AU powers because I'm not good at remembering canon jutsu.
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

In the past, there were nine different types of chakra. There was nature chakra, which involved the manipulation of the elements of air, fire, water and earth. There was organic chakra, which involved the manipulation and regeneration of the human body. There was ethereal chakra, which involved the manipulation of light and gravity. There was divine chakra, which involved the manipulation of lightning and electricity, the powers of foresight and the ability to cast and dispel illusionary attacks called genjutsu. There was soul chakra, which involved the manipulation of chakra itself.

There was psychic chakra, which involved the manipulation of others' minds and hearts in their true essences, not just through illusions. There was anthropomorphic chakra, which allowed living things of differing species to communicate and cooperate with one another. There was sensory chakra, which allowed for sensory exploration of one's surroundings and sensory manipulation of others.

Then there was the last type of chakra. This was the type of chakra that existed in abundance all throughout the universe, that filled the galaxy and mingled with the darkness of the night so that it stared back at stargazers when they lay back and lost themselves in the endlessness of the night sky. This was the chakra of life itself - the chakra of creation. Noone knows exactly how it was connected to creation. Were human bodies or souls made entirely of chakra? It wasn't entirely clear, but those who studied the heavens could feel it and the presence of some divine creative force at night.

Humans generally could not access or manipulate creation chakra, but it wasn't impossible. There was one way in which creation chakra could be summoned and used by humans, though, compared to the true potential of creation chakra, it was actually very feeble. Feeble or not, however, this employment of creation chakra - a spell that involved the weaving of hand signs - came to be known by the humans who guarded it as a forbidden spell whose existence must be concealed.

The spell was called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and it involved the production of chakra for the purpose of transforming it into a large number of autonomous clones of human beings. This was because before shinobi existed, a frivolous, narcissistic heavenly being attempted to transform all nine types of chakra into living things who would worship and revere him with their existence. He succeeded in giving them souls by infusing them with creation chakra. These creations manifested as tailed beasts, and they caused great destruction on the earth.

A man who would become known as the Sage of Six Paths was able to save humanity only by binding the creation chakra soul and fragments of the other eight normal chakra types of each tailed beast to the body of a human being. Those who became vessels for the souls of the tailed beasts became known as jinchuuriki. All of those who absorbed pieces of the non-creation-type chakra gained the ability to possess the powers that made the people whom we know as shinobi.


	2. Chapter 2

"Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru. It's been a long time."

These were the words with which Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, ruler and guardian of the Leaf Village, greeted the ninja who were known as the Legendary Sannin - Senju Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru - and who, after a decades-long absence, had reappeared in Konoha that day.

Hiruzen, who was behind his desk, regarded the trio from where he sat. He was an old man, close to seventy years old, at the very least, short, slight and somewhat frail of build, wrinkled and brown of complexion, and, though his hair could not be seen beneath the Hokage's hat, his short white beard gave some indication of its hue. With his angular, unmoving face, inscrutable expression and intelligent, appraising dark eyes, he looked for all the world as though he had been modeled after the great stone face that had been engraved into the side of the mountain rather than the opposite.

The Legendary Sannin, standing side-by-side, returned the favor. They were all close to fifty years old, childhood friends who had gone to the Leaf Academy together and had been teammates since the beginning of their careers as ninja. There was tall, white-maned Jiraiya, the Nature Sage, who had been gifted with a power that few shinobi had - the power to harvest and manipulate the raw nature chakra in his environment in order to perform jutsu. To his left was golden-haired, hazel-eyed Tsunade, whose extraordinary beauty might have belied her age if not for a certain quality of hers - perhaps it was the pair of frown lines that, when they weren't clearly visible, lay dormant and waiting to appear, or perhaps it was the fact that when she spoke, she almost always sounded sharp of tone and officious, even when she didn't mean to. Tsunade's youthful appearance could be credited to her bloodline, for in her lineage, on the Senju side, ran one of the most powerful chakra types in the world - organic chakra.

To Jiraiya's right was Orochimaru. He was a strange man, as youthful in appearance, in his own fashion, as Tsunade was and, although not possessed of as much of what most people of the opposite gender would call conventional beauty as Tsunade was, also beautiful in his own eerie fashion. He was tall, slender and lithe, with skin that appeared as smooth as ivory, just as cold, and just as white. His, long, silky, ink-black hair hung loose. Most people did not know what to make Orochimaru and, if not because of his strange reputation or the grisly nature of his regenerative powers, then because of his appearance and demeanor, gave him a wide berth, and even his good friends, who were among the few who understood him at least a little, struggled sometimes. His arms were folded into the sleeves of his purple robe. Like that of Hiruzen and unlike Tsunade and Jiraiya, whose postures and eyes were full of defiance, Orochimaru's expression betrayed little emotion - except for a hint of something that almost resembled diffidence. But in this moment, their hearts of the Legendary Sannin were as one, and they all knew it. There were no misunderstandings.

Hiruzen broke the lengthy silence. "I'm glad for your return. I'm also glad to say that I'm not surprised by your return. I am only sorry that you were gone for such a long time."

"Please dispense with the formalities - sensei." For Jiraiya, that last word came out with some difficulty. "We can't apologize for the length of time that we spent outside of Konoha. We're only sorry that we had to leave to begin with."

There was a pause, then Hiruzen, rising, adjusted his hat. "You never had to leave, Jiraiya. This village is your place of birth, your home. The Leaf Village has always been your home and will always be your home - so long as you wish for it to be."

After a moment, Jiraiya's gaze fell. So long as I wish for it to be.

For a moment, his mind wandered, and he remembered the speech that Hiruzen had given him and his teammates years upon years ago. Once again, he, Tsunade and Orochimaru were little genin, brimming with energy and life, hanging on to every word that Hiruzen-sensei uttered.

"For every ninja in the world, there is one unchangeable, eternal truth in life - he will lose at least one person who was dear to him." A pause to allow the little ones to absorb his words - and then came the smile and the words that had renewed their confidence and courage. "But for the ninja of the Leaf, there is another eternal truth - you will always have a home and a family in the Leaf Village, so long as the Will of Fire burns within you."

A touch on the shoulder from Tsunade brought him back to the present. We were so young then. Jiraiya lifted his eyes.

"Sensei, you already know why we had to leave the village."

"You three." Hiruzen turned so that his back was to his former students. "I still remember when you were little children who had just earned your headbands."

When he received no reply, he went on. "And I remember what I said to you then. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, every ninja will lose someone that he loves someday. I've lost friends, comrades, family members. But a ninja in whom the Will of Fire resides - such a ninja does not give up and forsake his village in his grief."

Tsunade tensed. As Hiruzen went on, her fists clenched, then her shoulders quivered.

"To forsake one's village - to forget the land for which one's comrades gave up their lives - is the same as forsaking the memory of your comrades. I knew that you would return because you could never forsake their memories."

Tsunade erupted. "We could never forsake the memories of our comrades regardless of what corner of the earth we took up space in. What village we chose to live in - to die in - all of that is completely irrelevant!"

"Tsunade." Orochimaru's cool, low voice cut in. "Remember what we came here for. Don't lose control."

"But -!"

"We feel the same way you do, Tsunade." This was from Jiraiya. "But Orochimaru's right."

As Tsunade regained her grip on herself, Hiruzen addressed his pupils. "Are you two saying that you agree with Tsunade? I would expect this of her, but from you, Jiraiya, I expect more."

"What do you mean by that, sensei?" Orochimaru was as cool and unreadable as ever. "Tsunade is an incredibly strong ninja and possesses an even stronger will."

Hiruzen gave a short, dry chuckle. "Tsunade is indeed a strong woman - the Slug Princess, the granddaughter of the founder of this very village, Lord Senju Hashirama, and the most powerful kunoichi in the Leaf."

He became quiet, and none of the Sannin broke the silence.

"And you, Orochimaru. Even after all of the years I spent as your sensei, you remained a mystery to me. In spite of my best efforts, I have never been able to boast of a real understanding of what goes through that mind of yours or of your heart."

"Considering that you go on to boast of an understanding of what is in my teammates' hearts, sensei," Orochimaru rejoined in his suave voice, "I can only view that as a compliment. But we did not pay you this surprise visit to chitchat about the past."

Jiraiya took the floor now. "We came because of Namikaze Naruto."

"The child's legal name is Uzumaki Naruto, Jiraiya." Jiraiya flinched. "As far as I - as everyone in this room is concerned, that is his name."

"That makes no sense to me, but I won't argue the point. I can guess that this is a part of a plan of yours to protect Naruto's identity. After all, he is the Ninetails' jinchuuriki. What I can't understand is why, when we came to the village inquiring after him, we were given the directions to a rundown apartment complex that's across the street from a junkyard and a liquor store. Why we were told stories about a mischievous, no-account brat who had no family, no friends and no caretaker that anyone knew of, who was the joke of the Academy because of his grades and who would need some form of divine intervention to even dream of graduating this year. No friends, no guardian, not even a decent place to lay his head at night. What kind of protection is that, sensei?"

Hiruzen turned to face him, at last. "Naruto is well-protected, Jiraiya. You have no reason to worry. Though he isn't aware of it or of his lineage, the ANBU Black Ops watches over him. They would prevent him from coming to serious harm. I provide for all of his material needs, but as for the matter of a caretaker . . ."

Here he trailed off, then heaved another sigh. "If I had raised him in my own household instead of treating him as any other orphan was treated, I might have raised the suspicions of powerful enemies. I think we all know, too, that we couldn't assign him to a civilian family. It would have been too great a risk."

"And what of the kunoichi and shinobi?" Tsunade demanded. "Could noone have assumed even a bit of responsibility over that child, sensei? Noone at all?"

"If I'd known of a shinobi who would make a suitable guardian for Naruto and who was willing to take on the role, I would have had no objections to his being adopted. But the Ninetails caused a massive amount of destruction and many deaths on the day of Naruto's birth. There are shinobi who harbour feelings of resentment towards Naruto because he is the vessel of the creature against whom their comrades and family members died fighting. And there are shinobi who have their own wounds, their own inner battles to fight, that may not be connected to that day at all. No, I have no right to pressure or compel those shinobi to shoulder the weight of that burden.

"Naruto is lonely, it is true, and he seeks attention because of his loneliness. But it isn't uncommon for war orphans and other parentless children to raise and rely on themselves. With the boy's safety and his identity at stake, Jiraiya, we cannot afford to view the situation through the lenses of emotion simply because he's Minato's son. At any rate, I've made his post-graduation arrangements for him. If somehow he manages to pass the graduation test tomorrow, he will be assigned a powerful sensei who knows about the Ninetails."

Once again, Jiraiya began to regard the floor. The silence stretched on for what seemed to be an eternity.

"I hope that you understand - and that you three didn't go to the trouble of travelling all this way from the Land of Mist only to ask after Naruto."

"No, sensei," Jiraiya answered at length. He then turned as if to head for the exit. As Tsunade and Orochimaru, taking their cue from him, moved to follow, however, he paused.

"And I don't feel this way only because Naruto is Minato's son. Yes, little Namikaze Minato was a friend and a fan of mine. . . but, more than that. . .Naruto is a human being."

With those words, before Hiruzen could inquire about the intentions of the returning. Sannin any further, Jiraiya left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Uzumaki Naruto was twelve years old. Though he was in the same class as red-headed, glasses-wearing little Uzumaki Karin, the two bore no physical resemblance to one another at all - a fact that caused them both to doubt that they could possibly share ancestors. Naruto was as scrawny as he was blond and blue-eyed, though the roundness of his whiskered little face and his baggy orange attire gave him the appearance of stockiness. He and Karin had nothing in common except for their fiery dispositions - and regret about the fact that they had the same last name.

Uchiha Sasuke and Deshimaru Miraku had taken their turns in front of the blackboard, where they'd demonstrated the ability to perform the Illusionary Clone jutsu and had been awarded the gleaming silver headbands that certified them as graduates of the Leaf Academy. Now it was Naruto's turn to stand beside Iruka and prove his capability.

"Go on, Naruto. You may perform the Illusionary Clone jutsu or the Transformation Jutsu. The successful execution of either technique will make you eligible for graduation."

"I know, I know, sensei," Naruto moaned. He rubbed the back of his head and scanned the faces of his classmates. One could say that those faces were all expectant, albeit not in the manner that Naruto would have liked for them to be. Nara Shikamaru, having decided that this was a good time to take a nap, had his head down on his desk. Akimichi Choji was munching on chips - a terrible violation of classroom etiquette, but a habit of his that Iruka had despaired of breaking. Deshimaru Miraku, and Yamanaka Ino and Uchiha Sasuke all sat with their chins in their hands and looked as though there were a thousand other places they needed and wanted to be. But Karin - Karin was a completely different matter.

Look at the way Four-Eyes has her eyes all cast down like she's some goody-two-shoes. She thinks she's so great because she's at the top of our class. She can try to look innocent, but I know she's just waiting for me to fail. Naruto gritted his teeth. He performed hand-signs. "Illusionary Clone Jutsu!"

A few seconds passed, and then what looked for all the world like a sculpture that a five-year-old fan of Naruto's had constructed out of wads of sodden toilet paper materialized beside him. A peal of laughter rippled through the room - and, as was always the case when Naruto failed, made a fool of himself or was the butt of an unkind joke, Karin's laughter was the loudest of all.

"Hey, Suigetsu!" she sang out over the noise of the others. "That clone of his looks just like you when you get scared and start turning into water!"

"SILENCE!" Iruka's thunderous shout came to Naruto's rescue, and every mouth clamped shut.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "Why? Just why?"

"Please, sensei, give me another chance! Maybe I can't do the Illusionary Clone Jutsu or the Transformation Jutsu, but who cares about those? I've got another jutsu up my sleeve, and it's really awesome, I swear!"

Iruka opened his eyes. "This had better not be some kind of a prank, Naruto!"

Relieved and encouraged, Naruto broke into a grin. His hands moved in a blur.

"Introducing…" A curtain of smoke surrounded him, then vanished. "…my very own invention, the Sexy Jutsu!"

There was a very lengthy, graveyard-like silence. Then pandemonium broke out. Several boys and even a few girls turned as red as beets and uttered unearthly, choking cries. It gave Naruto more than a little satisfaction to see that Karin was among them. Daishi Hikari, on the other hand, went pale, TenTen shouted her disgust and moral indignation, Miraku screamed her horror, and quiet, brooding Aburame Shino actually remarked (or, more accurately, murmured, though the distinctness of that strange, dark voice made it an attention-grabber even when things were chaotic), "Naruto, you can't possibly be serious."

"Quiet! Quiet, please!" Iruka pounded his desk with his ruler, and, once again, the class did its best to settle down. By this time, Naruto had resumed his normal form.

I think my Sexy Jutsu really made an impression on sensei. He's blushing and everything!

It disappointed him that Miraku, the girl he admired, hadn't been at all impressed by his jutsu. But she's a girl, he consoled himself. Of course she wouldn't care anything about a pretty lady - and I guess it was probably rude of me not to at least factor some clothes into the jutsu -

"Naruto." Iruka spoke heavily, wearily. "I want to talk to you privately. Please give us a moment, everyone."

A minute later, Naruto was in the office that he'd gotten to know all too well, sitting in that accursed blue chair. Iruka sat across from him.

"I don't get why you're looking so old at me, Iruka-sensei," Naruto moaned. "What was so bad about my jutsu?"

Iruka inhaled through his nose in the way that he always did before he raised his voice. Naruto felt himself shrink by several sizes. He braced himself for the thunderclap.

"What was so bad about it? To begin with, it wasn't the Clone Jutsu. Secondly, it wasn't the Transformation Jutsu. And, lastly, it was indecent and highly-inappropriate!"

"It WAS a Transformation Jutsu, in a way!" Naruto dared to protest, though the words came out in a hoarse squeak. "I made myself look like a pretty girl. I could use this in battle to distract the enemy. Come on, give me some credit, sensei!"

"COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DISGUSTING!" Naruto fairly flew into the air. It took all of the courage he possessed to keep him from diving under the desk for cover. Iruka seemed to be on fire. "You must be a fool to think that idea of yours could ever work on the battlefield. All you'd accomplish with it is to make yourself a target for creeps and perverts, and at twelve years old. I didn't spend six years teaching you for you to end up in the middle of a social circle of pedophiles!"

"But, sensei -"

"I don't want to hear it! I spent six years teaching you so that you could at least learn to perform the Illusionary Clone Jutsu or the Transformation Jutsu. If you can't perform either of those, how do you expect me to allow you to graduate? You don't understand the dangers and the risks that the life of a ninja entails, Naruto. It isn't some childish game; it's a matter of life and death!"

Naruto stared at his hands. His face was stiff with the effort of maintaining self-control. A lump began to gather in his throat, and the backs of his eyes grew hot. The dampness soon followed.

Iruka left his seat. One thin brown hand came to rest on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto." All anger and severity was gone. "Sensei doesn't enjoy scolding you like this. You may not understand me now, but you'll understand someday that I only want what's best for you."

"All I understand is that you're not going to let me be a ninja now." Naruto hated the sound of his own unsteady, choked voice. The dampness became wetness. "Everybody else is going to graduate - even Bushy Brows, and he can't even do ninjutsu or genjutsu. But me … I'm going to be stuck here …like I've been for six whole years."

"It isn't like you'd have to be here for another six years - that is, unless you keep slacking off when it comes to your studying the way you've been doing. If you practice harder, you can become a ninja next year. Why are you in such a rush to graduate, Naruto?"

Naruto managed to blink back fresh tears. "Because there's someone - someone who's graduating this year - someone I want to acknowledge me, to respect me. And, most of all, because I'm going to be Hokage one day!"

"Again with the Hokage." Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why are you so obsessed with the title of Hokage, anyway?"

"Because I want to prove that I've got what you always said I should have, sensei - the Will of Fire. And it's because I want to prove I'm the strongest shinobi in the Leaf - and then the whole world!"

Iruka gave a small smile. His gaze drifted downward.

"The Will of Fire…huh? And the strongest shinobi in the world. You aim high, Uzumaki Naruto."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto cried. "I know I can do it. Don't laugh at me, sensei!"

"I wasn't laughing at you. Sorry for smiling. All right, Naruto. You pass."

It took several seconds for Naruto to absorb the words.

"Well, what's with the face? I said you passed."

"I …I know. But, sensei…just a second ago, you said you wouldn't let me graduate."

If Naruto hadn't been so very young, had been wiser and more perceptive, he would have been able to see what was in Iruka's eyes - a mixture of knowing, pity, guilt and that strange emotion that some people called love.

"I never said that I certainly wouldn't let you graduate. And, after all, that strange Jutsu of yours is a sort of Transformation technique. So you'll be graduating with the others. Come on back to the classroom. I'll give you your headband, and you'll be assigned a jonin."

Naruto folded his arms. "Sensei. You said you hated my Sexy Jutsu and that it was a stupid trick that would never work. Is this some kind of revenge prank?"

Iruka started for the office door. He paused to peer over his shoulder. "I don't play pranks; that's your area of expertise. I do hate that jutsu of yours, and it is a stupid trick that will never work. I'm warning you, Naruto, that if somehow you end up in my class again, I'll never let you graduate with that stupid stunt a second time. So you'd better get moving before I change my mind."

Naruto paled. Back in Iruka's class! But they can't send you back to the Academy after you graduate; that can't be legal! Or is it? Oh, man, I'm not taking any chances! He fairly flew out of his seat. "Hey, I'm coming, wait for me, sensei!"


	4. Chapter 4

"YEAH!"

Naruto, having been crowned with his silver headband, adjusted it again and again, hoping to achieve the perfect angle, and posed before an invisible mirror as he made his way to his seat. In his mind, the Uzumaki Naruto Talk Show premiered.

Hi. You guys probably already know me, but in case you haven't heard of me, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm going to become Hokage someday - believe it! Today I graduated from the Academy with the rest of my class. We're all going to be divided into teams of three kids - two boys and one girl - and the teams will be headed by a jonin we'll call sensei. We don't know who we're going to get yet or who'll end up on the same team with who. I guess that means I should introduce you to everybody.

The imaginary camera panned over the classroom, the little faces that shone with eagerness and anticipation.

I'm going to divide my classmates into two categories - people I hate and people I like (other than Iruka-sensei, that is). I'll list the people I like and hate from top to bottom. All right, let's get started!

Out of all the people I don't like, I hate Uzumaki Karin the most. UGGGHHHHH! If I could give Karin a hundred places on my "I hate" list, I would. She's the type of girl who sucks up to the teacher, gets perfect grades and pretends she hardly has to study for them, always takes extra credit assignments and acts like she's so cute and innocent around Iruka-sensei. But she's always had it out for me. I don't know why she hates me so much. I never did anything to old Four-Eyes! When we were in first grade, she told me I couldn't be an Uzumaki because I didn't look like one and didn't have any weird healing powers like she did. When we were in second grade, she told me my dad was probably actually some random weirdo off the streets and the only reason people called me Uzumaki was because it comes in last when sensei calls attendance in alphabetical order and it suited me because I was "dead-last." That doesn't even make any sense! I've always had this last name; believe it! And anyway, if I'm dead-last because I have the name Uzumaki, what does that make her?! I said that to her, and she kicked me under the table, so I stepped on her foot, and then she started screaming bloody murder, and I'm the one who got sent to the hall. I didn't even mean to make her bleed. Sensei just believed her story and sided with her because she's a girl! Then there was that science project we had to do together in third grade that she took all the credit for!

Next to Karin, I hate Hozuki Suigetsu the most. He's a hoary-headed, shark-toothed, watery jerk who's always egging Karin on to pick on me. He thinks he's so slick and so funny. He's a coward who would rather talk trash and then turn into water when someone throws a punch at him than stand and fight like a real ninja! Whenever I call him on it, he brags that he's going to collect the swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist one day and then he'll be undefeatable. What a bag of hot air.

I don't exactly hate Yamanaka Ino, but I don't like her, either. Everybody says she's prettier than Miraku-chan, but she's not my type. I know we aren't related, but the fact we both have blond hair and blue eyes makes the idea of me even thinking about her that way just . . .sort of weird and gross. Anyway, I don't like her because she's bossy, and she always acts like she's so tough.

Nara Shikamaru's got to be the most boring person I've ever met. I can't even care that he doesn't like me and thinks I'm annoying because he has about as much personality as a potato. His grades are almost as bad as mine, and the thing is, he doesn't even care. He's always got that stupid expression on his face that makes him look bored, confused and pissed off at the same time. Aside from complaining to Choji about what a drag everything he is, he just likes to nap all the time. He's like a black hole of boredom and tiredness; just looking at him sucks all the energy and life out of me.

I don't like Aburame Shino - who does? He's creepy, he wears goggles, and he likes bugs. Then there's TenTen, who's annoying, with her "Leave-me-alone-I'm-busy-training" this and "Tsunade-sama" that. She's the tryhard tomboy sort of girl, always whining about wanting to be the best, and no sense of fun. After her, there's Rock Lee, who's a total weirdo. I mean, he doesn't even have a real first and last name, and look at that haircut, and those eyebrows! Plus he's always showing off with his marathons and his thousands of push-ups and walking on his hands and screaming about hard work. I'll bet he does it just to make me look bad.

Daishi Hikari. . .I don't know what to think of her. She's blond, like Yamanaka Ino, and she's the tiniest kid in our class, so I don't think she's cute. Just like Shino, she's quiet, too. She doesn't creep around like he does, so I guess she's ok.

Now for the people I like. First off, there's Uchiha Sasuke. His big brother Itachi's the head of the Uchiha clan, even though he's barely grown. That's because when we were both in first grade, Sasuke's parents were murdered along with a bunch of other Uchiha clan members, and Itachi had to take over. Nobody knows the name of the person who killed them. Actually, for all I know, it might not have even been a person, but some weird kind of spirit or invisible monster.

Not that Sasuke ever talks about what happened. He hardly ever talks to anybody. He just keeps to himself and studies and trains. Aside from his brother, he's the coolest guy around. Serious, smart, strong - all the things I wish I could be - instead of the goofy loser I really am. Sometimes I try to talk to him, but the most I ever get is, "Hey." After that, he ignores me like he does to everyone else. Still, he's the strongest guy in our class. If I can't get strong enough to win his respect, I'll never be good enough to be Hokage. So, even though he doesn't know it, in a way, I've picked him as my number one rival.

Then there's Deshimaru Miraku. There's just something about her I like - something Yamanaka Ino and TenTen don't have. She has long brown hair and big pools for eyes that look golden and brown and dark and bright all at the same time. She's always wearing dresses and pretty skirts, and she looks so soft. But she doesn't like me. She doesn't not like me the way Karin hates me. She's just always acted like she was trying to avoid me or something, and I don't k ow why. When I look at her, I get a warm feeling in my chest, and I feel peaceful and happy. I want to keep that happiness with me all the time. I feel like I could - if she'd like me the way I like her - if she'd blush when she looked at me the same way she blushes when she looks at Sasuke.

Akimichi Choji's ok. Actually, he's pretty cool. It takes alot of confidence to be as fat as he is and not be embarrassed about it. He even kept eating in class through all of Iruka-sensei's yelling and chip-bag-snatching. It got to the point where sensei just gave up and let him keep up his classroom snacking. I mean, it's Iruka-sensei's very last day as our teacher and Choji's snacking in class right this minute. He's done it every single day since we started the Academy. The guy's got guts in more ways than one. Plus he never tries to mess with anyone; he just snacks and minds his own business. The only bad thing about him is he's always hanging out with Shikamaru.

Juugo's ok, too. He's kind of like a big brother figure to Karin and Suigetsu, always making sure they have their lunches and don't forget their books and everything, but he's not a jerk like they are. He's a weird guy; I've seen him standing around in the park, talking to birds. But he's quiet and doesn't bother anybody. In fact, he kind of seems to go out of his way not to be bothered with anyone except Karin and Suigetsu.

I guess Inuzuka Kiba's ok. He's kind of a cocky loudmouth, but he has a dog. I guess noone who likes dogs can be that bad. I wish Lord Third would give me an allowance so I could have a dog or at least a goldfish.

Naruto put his talk show on hold, for pretty Miraku had floated into his line of vision. As he watched, scarcely believing his eyes, she came to stand beside his seat.

"Hi there, Miraku-chan!" Is she really. . .? Miraku-chan's about to sit next to me!

In Miraku's blushing face, framed by fine brown tresses, and her sparkling eyes was that softness that Naruto longed and loved to see. His hopes plummeted, however, when she circled around his desk without a word to him and approached Ino, who sat to the right of him.

Ino, for her part, sat with her elbow propped up on her desk and her chin in her hand. Geez, Naruto thought, she looks as bored as Shikamaru. She's been that way from the minute she came into the classroom. What's got Ino all in a funk today? Any normal person would at least be a little excited!

Naruto soon had the answer to his question, which was echoed aloud by Shino of all people.

"Why do you look annoyed and disinterested, Ino-san?" The sound of her name in that eerie, monotonous voice made Ino almost jump out of her skin. "We've all graduated, and we'll be assigned teammates and jonin today. I'd expect everyone to be excited. At least half as excited as I am."

Naruto sweatdropped. The hell are you talking about? You've never been excited in your life. I don't think I've ever even seen you smile; whatever face muscles people use to smile, you probably don't have them!

"W-what? . . . Oh, whatever." Ino returned her chin to her hand. "You guys can be excited, but I already know who I'm going to be on a team with. Papa told me yesterday. I have to do the dumb Ino-Shika-Cho formation. It's just my luck that I'll be stuck on a team with the laziest person in Konoha."

I have to feel sorry for Choji, Naruto thought, but at least now I know I won't be stuck on a team with Ino or Shikamaru. Honestly, not even Shikamaru deserves to have to put up with anybody as bossy as Ino.

Miraku cut in. "Excuse me, Ino-san. Can we trade seats?"

Oh, yeah. A crestfallen Naruto followed her dreamy gaze to the ultimate object of her attention. I should've guessed. She wasn't interested in me. It's Sasuke she wants to sit next to, and he's sitting on the other side of Ino, between her and Shino.

"Trade seats? For what?"

"Well, I was sitting next to Shino-kun, but since you're talking to him. . ."

Ino's response was immediate, emphatic with indignation - and almost panicky. "No way! I already answered his question; why would we sit together?"

In spite of his own misfortune, Naruto had to snicker. Ino overheard and rounded on him. "And just what are you laughing at?"

"What's the matter, Ino? Don't you want to sit next to Shino-kun?"

This remark caused Miraku to turn her attention to him for the first time that day, albeit not in the way that he would have liked. "You're the worst, Naruto-kun. Mind your own business! Leave Shino-kun alone. I'd rather sit next to him than you any day!"

This silenced Naruto. His face burned as though he'd been slapped. I'm. . .the worst? Worse than creepy Aburame Shino? Me? She'd rather sit next to a brooding kid version of Ebisu-sensei than be near me? Awww, man. But how? WHY?!

So absorbed was Naruto in his dejected, mortified thoughts that he scarcely noticed the quarrel that had broken out between Ino and Miraku.

"Just sit next to Shino-kun," Miraku moaned. "I don't see what the big deal is!"

"How rude can you get? This is my seat. You go back and sit next to Shino since it's such a blast over there!"

"But. . .well, there's someone else I want to sit next to. . .!"

"Who? . . . Oh, I get it. It's Sasuke-kun. You're trying to make me move so you can flirt with him!"

"I'm not trying to flirt! I just -!"

"Yeah, right. Just admit it. You have a crush on Sasuke-kun!"

Miraku was as red as a beet. "Why don't you shut up? Just forget it. Who cares about some stupid seat on the last day of school, anyway? You're like a kindergartener!"

"You, apparently, since you came all the way over here to pester me about moving so you could find TRUE LOOOOOOOVE!"

"You're the worst ever!" Miraku whirled on her heel to storm off. "That's why you look like a blonde version of Shikamaru-kun. You make me sick!"

Ino's eyes bulged. "Did you just compare me to that -?! Take that back, or I'll rip your intestines out!"

The battle raged on for another moment or two. Then, abruptly, Sasuke cut in.

"Why don't you both be quiet or take your screaming outside? I can't hear myself think."

Naruto donned his hero cape and leapt to Miraku's defense. "Hey! You don't have to talk to Miraku-chan like th-!"

Sasuke rounded on him. "Naruto, if you like her so much, why don't YOU get her to shut up for me? Maybe you can render her speechless with that moronic jutsu you performed earlier."

Like a popped balloon, Naruto deflated. "You've never been a ball of sunshine, but that - th-that's just hitting below the belt, Sasuke."

He cowered a little as Sasuke's shadow fell over him and a bewildered Ino. His eyes flashed.

He looks like he wants to murder me. What did I do?

"Uzumaki Naruto. You education-wasting, always-tardy, homework-skipping, classroom-napping, drooling excuse of a jailbaiting MORON! Don't ever talk to me again. I mean it. I don't even want to be seen near a freak like you. Leave me alone. Keep your distance, or, I swear on the honor of the Uchiha, I'll break every bone in your body."

Naruto rallied himself and fought back. "Just because I did that jutsu? Well, if it was as bad as you make it seem, why'd Iruka-sensei let me graduate?"

"How the hell should I know? I'm not interested in imagining what happened when you two were behind the door of that office. But I know one thing - you didn't perform the Clone Jutsu or the Transformation Jutsu, so he certainly didn't let you graduate because you earned it!"

An incensed Naruto, with flaming face, shot out of his seat. "Just what the hell are you trying to get at? Listen up, I earned this headband fair and square! I may not know alot of jutsu yet, but I'm going to be Hokage one day. BELIEVE IT!"

Sasuke sniffed. "I'll believe that when I see it."

"You want to see the end of my fist?!"

"You couldn't even put a scratch on my headband, idiot!"

"Naruto!" some girl who was enamored of Sasuke could be heard crying in the background. "You leave Sasuke-kun alone!"

"Yeah," Ino chimed in, "or at the very least, get out of -!"

Her voice trailed off, then became feebler with every word. ". . .my. . .personal . . .s-space."

The reason for Ino's discomfort was apparent. In the process of leaning over her desk to shout at one another, Naruto and Sasuke had slipped, fallen forward and locked lips.

"Naruto. . . Sasuke-kun. J-j-just what in the name of heaven. . .are you two doing?"

The boys broke away from eachother. They roared their disgust to the world, scrubbed at their mouths and, with frantic vehemence, clarified the situation to Ino. But of greater concern to Naruto was Miraku's opinion of him, and when he saw the look of horrified disgust in her eyes, he knew that the damage had already been done.


	5. Chapter 5

In spite of an unfortunate start, Naruto's sodden spirits had risen by the time he greeted his new sensei. It was true that things had gone horribly wrong that morning, but now that he was on the same team as Sasuke and Miraku, he would have a better shot at winning Sasuke's respect, winning Miraku's heart and, most importantly, erasing that disastrous string of events from their memories.

"All right, you three." Kakashi, now out on the training grounds, addressed his genin. "Tell me about yourselves. Your names, your likes and dislikes, your hobbies, your dreams for the future."

"Hi, sensei! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. What I like is ramen. Only thing I like better than pack ramen is ramen someone else made for me, 'specially Teuchi at Ichiraku's. I like cup ramen, but it just isn't the same. BELIEVE IT! Plus they don't put as much ramen in the cups as they do in the packs, but they charge you more just for the stupid styrofoam. I can't even use the styrofoam because I don't have a microwave in my apartment. But sometimes the cup ramen is all they have at the store, and when I complain to the shop owner, who thinks he's funny, he tells me I bought all the pack ramen he had in stock. The thing I HATE is actually a person. It's that brat Uzumaki Karin. She's the bane of my existence! I don't really have any hobbies because I'm too broke to afford any - unless playing tricks on Lord Third counts. But I've got a dream for the future - I'm going to become Hokage. BELIEVE IT!"

Sasuke took the floor next. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. What I like is peace, quiet, privacy and personal space. I HATE morons who scream in my ear for idiotic reasons and being on the same team with freaks who bring their freakiness into the classroom, then plaster their disgusting lips on me."

Naruto flinched. Beside him, Miraku gave a nervous laugh.

"As for dreams, I take medicine so all of my sleep is dreamless and I get a few hours of the peace and quiet that I don't get otherwise. I don't have dreams about the future of about anything else. But I've got a goal - to be the strongest weapon of the Uchiha clan - and to kill a certain someone."

Naruto blanched. "A certain someone"? After everything that happened in class - I sure hope he doesn't mean me!

Kakashi's eyes were now on Miraku, who looked as though the spotlight had suddenly been turned on her and she wanted to escape. She fidgeted and studied her hands.

"I - I'm Deshimaru Miraku! I - I like - I - I mean. . . my goals are. . .my dreams - I want to . . .um. . ." Her voice became feeble. " - t-to be a good ninja. . .someday - I guess?"

From where they perched on the roof of a nearby building, the Sannin observed the goings-on.

"Well, then. There's Minato's son," Orochimaru murmured. "He looks a little worse for wear, but we've located him. And the other boy must be the younger son of the late Uchiha Fugaku. But what of the teacher? Do you know who he is?"

"I don't know him personally," Tsunade admitted. "He has that mask on, so I sent one of Lady Katsuyu's children down to investigate his chakra. As I suspected, he's a young man, so young that he probably hadn't been born yet when we left the village. But all of the intelligence I've gathered and his appearance point to him being Sakumo's son, the jonin they call Hatake Kakashi."

"What about the little girl?" Jiraiya inquired. "She doesn't resemble the members of any major ninja clan I recognize."

"I don't recognize her, either, but that's no surprise." Tsunade shook her head. "A jinchuuriki, the victim of a clan massacre and a girl from a civilian family or some obscure clan. It would be just like sensei to encourage that sort of foolhardy team arrangement."

Jiraiya grunted. "Two boys, one of them an untalented loser and the other one a prodigy if possible, and one pretty girl with no real ambitions to speak of. That's always been sensei's blueprint for a team of genin. Said it was supposed to encourage the boys on the team to compete over the girl, to make them train harder."

"And yet it seldom worked," Orochimaru remarked. "Ultimately, young male shinobi are more interested in training than in romance, and most have no desire to vie with other shinobi over a kunoichi. So why would sensei continue that tradition?"

Tsunade's thin eyebrows met. "Because sensei dislikes change. He was the first Hokage to rule over an era in which the young children of the Leaf were sent out to fight and die because wars and missions were eating up so many of its able-bodied adults. He's always been the sort of person who believed that if a system seemed to be working well, it shouldn't be changed, and the weight of the responsibility he feels - presiding over a system that demands the lives of children. . .I think it makes him feel even more inclined to play it safe."

Orochimaru watched as the four silhouettes on the ground below began to disperse. Kakashi went in one direction, Sasuke in another. The unidentified little girl attempted to follow Sasuke and was pursued in her turn by Naruto. Sasuke sauntered along as though he didn't see her, but he must have said something to her, for she halted a few feet behind him, then stood there, dejected, as he left her behind. "And then there's the ideology of the Will of Fire. The duty of the current generation is to ensure the existence and the survival of the next, at least until the next generation is old enough to fight if need be. A kunoichi must live long enough to bear at least one child. Then someone must look after the child at least until he is old enough to fend for himself, so kunoichi generally retire from the battlefield to focus on being mothers. After retiring, though, few of them ever return to the life of a full-time ninja."

Tsunade watched as the girl, alone now, plodded over to seat herself upon the nearest bench. "So the life of a female ninja consists of bearing children so that she can sit on the sidelines and watch them die. Girls are groomed to spend their earliest years dreaming of beauty and heart-stopping romances that they'll never have. They're taught to throw a kunai and perform a minor healing jutsu or two, then go back to arranging flowers and thinking of love. They're taught to see men as objects or as saviors, and boys are groomed to pursue strength and power and taught to see girls as objects or as liabilities who need to be saved. Already when we were growing up, fewer and fewer ninja were choosing to start families, and I doubt things have gotten any better since we left. Meanwhile, children and adults are losing their lives left and right as the potential combat strength of half of our ninja population continues to be squandered so they can focus on getting ready to make babies. Just thinking about it makes me sick."

On the bench, Miraku sat and dangled her feet. Kakashi had dismissed her and her new teammates with an order to meet him before sunrise that next morning for an important test. They'd been strongly advised not to eat anything from that moment until after tomorrow's exercise because the test would put them at risk of severe nausea, but at the moment, Miraku had no desire for food, anyway.

It's no wonder Sasuke-kun didn't want to be bothered with me. "I want to - to be a good ninja. . . I guess?" I sounded pathetic. I bet even sensei thought I was lame. At this rate, Uzumaki Naruto-kun's the only person on my team who likes me. Having one person who liked me would make me feel better . . .if only it were anybody in our class except him.

An orphan, Miraku had never known her parents, two ninja who had been considered of no note, who had never attained ranks higher than that of Chuunin, and who had died on the day that the Ninetails had broken loose. Because of her grandmother and grandfather, who had raised her, Miraku was aware of Naruto's connection to the Ninetails.

It would have been easy to theorize that Miraku feared Naruto in a primal sense or hated him because of her parents' deaths, but that would have been missing the mark. She never complained of her feelings about Naruto to anyone, but had always done her best to conceal her troubles behind a "studious-well-behaved-schoolgirl-who-avoids-the-weird-class-troublemaker-because-he's-weird-and-a-troublemaker" facade. The truth, however, was that she was afraid of Naruto, albeit not in the way that one might assume.

The truth was that Miraku understood her place in society. Teachers might tell her - and indeed had told strong-willed, ambitious girls like TenTen - that they believed a woman could and ought to be at liberty to do everything that a man could. But by observing the adults around her, Miraku had learned a different lesson. A woman had two roles - to love a man - love him loyally, passionately, unquestioningly, even unthinkingly - and to serve.

About girls, there were five rules that went unspoken: that they all adored the handsome "cool guys," that they OUGHT to love their less-fortunate "nice" colleagues, that, at the end of the day, those who managed to "get" any man at all were lucky, that to remain single forever for lack of romantic options was not only the worst fate that could ever befall a woman, but was a very real and terrifying possibility for any and every woman, no matter what good qualities she might possess, and that men tended to be afraid of "strong" women.

I have a crush on Sasuke-kun. So I do like the "cool guy." And I guess I should like Naruto-kun instead because he likes me. . .but I don't. I'm supposed to be all about love and not try to get too strong - not try to be independent. A girl who isn't all about love will end up all alone. A girl who tries to be happy alone and fend for herself will either end up needing a hero anyway or have something terrible happen to her. So I can't try to get strong, and yet - if I don't try at all, I'll be a lazy priss of a girl. But what do I want out of life? Well, as for what I want. . . "to be a good ninja, I guess," was the best answer I could've given Kakashi-sensei, even if it was pathetic.

About Naruto-kun, I . . .I know it was the Ninetails who took Mama and Papa away from me. I know it wasn't even inside of Naruto-kun then. He was just a baby. He didn't murder my parents. But . . .just because Naruto-kun and the Ninetails aren't the same thing. . .doesn't mean that it isn't a part of him. I don't mean the fact that it's in his body. I mean . . . I'm scared it's a part of him as a person. And why wouldn't it be? Grandmother and Grandfather told me what the Ninetails was. It's chakra - chakra and anger and bitterness and hate.

Naruto-kun might be nice to me just because he thinks I have a cute butt. But that isn't who he really is. He doesn't respect Iruka-sensei. He just goofs off in class and doesn't study. He makes fun of Shino-kun and Lee-san for being 'weird.' He's rude to Ino-san, Karin-san and Tenten-chan. He's always trying to show off and losing his temper. That's the way he is - and yet sensei let him graduate even though he didn't pass the test. It's no wonder he goes around acting like he deserves to wear the headband and become Hokage just because he screams about wanting to. To Naruto-kun, my love's nothing but a tiny part of what he deserves - and since I'm a girl and he has a crush on me, the rules say that he's right.

Against her will, tears quivered at the rims of Miraku's eyes. But one day. . . when he gets tired of playing the nice guy . . .will all of that anger and bitterness and hate that Grandmother and Grandfather call "the Ninetails" come out to crush me and anyone else he thinks is standing in his way? If that happens, will anyone even care? Or will the village just forget about us the same way they forgot about Mama and Papa and give him the silver headband again?


	6. Chapter 6

I tried to catch up with Sasuke and Miraku-chan and talk to them, but it was no use. Thanks to my Sexy Jutsu, Sasuke seems to hate me now. And Miraku-chan - she's never liked me, and I can't figure out why.

As he lay there, hands tucked behind his head, Naruto surveyed the insides of his apartment. It was a tiny one, divided down the middle by carpeting. One half of it, the carpeted half, was his bedroom; the other half was something that one might call a kitchen. It was not spacious enough to accommodate anything more than a row of poorly-hinged, stickily-waxed cabinets, a tiny sink, a tiny refrigerator, a stove, and the person who made use of them - not that Naruto could find much use for the stove, as boiling water for ramen was the extent of skill with the culinary arts. A few feet from Naruto's bedside were two doors. One belonged to his closet, where he kept his clothes - shirts, shorts, socks, underwear and all, dirty and clean alike, though, to his credit, he did put the dirty underwear in a trash bag - in a jumbled heap, and the other belonged to a tiny bathroom that had been built into the wall as though it were also a closet. The apartment's only window was in the bathroom.

A bed. A stove, rusty sink and a refrigerator. Four dingy grey walls. An air-conditioning vent (connected to a communal air-conditioning unit that was operated by the apartment complex's managers) that never shut properly and that often emitted cold air in autumn and winter when it ought to have been blowing hot air and the opposite in the summertime. The distant screams and shouts of neighbors who were quarreling, brawling, inebriated or simply had no manners, and, other than all of that, silence. None of this did anything to lift Naruto's spirits.

Happiness, sadness. The excitement of getting a headband, the fun of pulling off a prank or the warm feeling I get when Iruka-sensei pats my head and smiles at me. . .and then the pain of being nothing but a talentless loser. . .the hurt of being all alone. Light. . .and darkness. It feels like every bit of light I have, I've got to do something to get it. . .and since I'm a talentless loser, there's only so much I can do. But the darkness - it seems like it's always there, always waiting somewhere in the background. I - I wish there was something lay between the light and the darkness. . .wish I knew whether there was a hidden truth to life, after all. . .a beautiful, awesome truth.

Then Naruto recalled something that Iruka had said to him about an unchanging, eternal truth. Slowly, he sat up.

"That's right. Even though it may not always feel like it, I have a home and a family in the Leaf Village just as long as I have the Will of Fire in me. And if I have the Will of Fire in me, I can get stronger - strong enough to be Hokage, and then everyone, even Sasuke, will respect me! And I've got family here already, sort of - Iruka-sensei and Old Man Ichiraku and Ayame-neechan."

These happy thoughts lifted Naruto's spirits, but the thought of Ichiraku's also reminded him of his empty stomach and of ramen - a large bowl with extra toppings. Yesterday, Old Man Ichiraku had given him a gift certificate for three large bowls of ramen with unlimited toppings, which Naruto could redeem, he'd stipulated, if and when he earned his headband. Now his mouth began to water. His spirits took a dip, however, when he recalled Kakashi's advice about fasting.

I was in such a hurry to get to the Academy today that I missed breakfast, so if I ate something now, maybe it wouldn't count!

The thought made Naruto perk up, but then, remembering the debacle of earlier, he deflated. Ugh, who am I kidding? I've humiliated myself enough today. I don't know what tricks Kakashi-sensei's got up his sleeve, but I can't afford to mess up tomorrow, too. This test's my chance to prove myself! He clutched his growling stomach. Ramen-chan. . .I'm so sorry. I'm coming for you. Wait just a little bit longer. I swear we'll meet again!

xxxxxxXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

It's at this point that I'd like to pause the story and provide an index-like description of this year's graduating class of the Leaf Academy, expounding on their introductions in the Uzumaki Talk Show.

Let's begin with Uzumaki Naruto himself. His chakra nature is unknown. The only jutsu he has in his arsenal is the one he calls the Sexy Jutsu, his own masterpiece. He struggles to execute jutsu because his chakra control is clumsy and feeble. He's aware of the fact that a demon called the Ninetails resides within him. He's unaware, however, of the fact that the chakra of that demon can be harnessed for his own use.

Next, there's Uchiha Sasuke. He has two chakra natures - divine and elemental. He gained the ability to utilize the techniques of his clan when, on the night that he discovered his mother and father had been killed, his Sharingan awakened. His control of chakra is good. He can anticipate the moves of his opponents, recognize and dispel jutsu that are below a certain caliber, and utilize the elemental-type Fireball Jutsu. He is also a powerful hand-to-hand fighter. Because of his bloodline, he is the only one of his classmates who will have the power to create and manipulate lightning and electricity. With that being said, he hasn't yet learned to use the divine chakra nature jutsu Chidori.

The last of Team Seven's members is Miraku. A member of the nature chakra-using Deshimaru clan and an excellent controller of chakra, she has mastered the Illusionary Clone Jutsu as well as a handful of basic combat techniques that involve the spontaneous growth of plants. She was a good student and graduated at the top of her class in the Academy.

The case of Rock Lee and TenTen is somewhat interesting. They have been placed on the same team as Hyuuga Neji, a young shinobi who is two years their senior and who earned the title of genin years before. The highest-ranking member of the Hyuuga clan's side branch, Neji is a prodigy who excels in the soul chakra-based Gentle Fist fighting style, which is powered by the Byakugan, a kekkei genkai that also gives its owner the power of penetrating and long-distance vision.

The Gentle Fist is a fighting style that combines martial arts-style hand-to-hand combat with an ability to manipulate the chakra points and chakra flow of another person or living thing by striking the bodily areas where they are located, channeling some of one's own chakra into the strike to complete the attack. The technique can inflict damage that ranges from rendering an opponent immobile to harming or disabling his or her internal organs. The more chakra, speed, precision of movement, physical strength, mental strength and chakra control that one possesses, the more disabling power one's strikes will have and the better one will be at forestalling counterattacks from one's target.

Neji is a genius, one of only two people alive who knows the secret to launching the most advanced Gentle Fist-based attack: Eight Trigrams, Sixty-four Palms. Using this technique, Neji can disable all sixty-four of the chakra points in the human body in one speedy attack, making his target unable to move.

Rock Lee is a young shinobi who cannot utilize ninjutsu or genjutsu. As far as we know, he does not have a chakra nature. He trains hard in the hope of excelling at hand-to-hand combat.

TenTen, like Rock Lee, does not belong to any known clan. It's believed that she and her parents were the sole survivors or of the few survivors of a clan that has become almost extinct. While she is capable of performing basic ninjutsu such as the Clone Jutsu, she, too, focuses on a more basic style of combat. The difference is that she fights using weapons; furthermore, there is a seal on her torso - one that resembles an elaborate ink tattoo - that, when unlocked, allows her to summon weapons from other locations. Tenten's fighting style, like all fighting styles, requires chakra, but the use of the seal can be particularly taxing chakra-wise, especially when used to summon heavy objects or items from distant locations.

Team Ino-Shika-Cho is the team that consists of Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. Choji's chakra nature is soul. He can use his chakra to increase the size of a part of or all of his body, making him stronger physically. This technique is taxing on its user chakra-wise, and only very advanced users can maintain their expanded forms for more than a very short period of time. As a last resort, he can increase his strength by converting the calories stored in his body to chakra, but this is an extremely dangerous technique.

Shikamaru is not especially strong physically, nor is he a very good hand-to-hand fighter. The chakra nature of the Nara clan is ethereal. The main jutsu that he has in his arsenal is the Shadow Possession Jutsu, but he has the potential to become more advanced. At the moment, though not many people would have guessed it, his intellect is his most fearsome weapon.

Ino is a passable hand-to-hand fighter, but her chakra nature is psychic. An extraordinary user of psychic chakra-based techniques can read and possess minds and even hearts. While Ino has not reached that level yet, she can use her chakra to convert her consciousness into spirit energy, which she can launch at her opponent in an attack known as the Mind Transfer Jutsu. Upon successfully making contact with its target, this jutsu will expel the target's own consciousness from his or her body and replace it with that of the jutsu user for a period of time. Advanced users of psychic chakra-based techniques can also turn the Mind Transfer Jutsu into a deadly weapon in its own right, but some advanced uses of this jutsu can also be dangerous or fatal to the user.

On Kurenai's team are Daishi Hikari, Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba, all three of whom have anthropomorphic chakra natures. Within Shino's body resides a population of insects that resemble - but are not - common houseflies. The insects feed on his chakra, reproduce, and emerge when called upon to form a massive insect army that is subject to his command. The insects, powered by Shino's chakra, can serve a wide range of combat and support purposes, but they and their master are too often underestimated by people who find bugs repulsive. Shino has not yet gained the ability to expand his range of attacks by summoning and making allies of insects who originated outside of his body.

Kiba is not nearly as advanced a ninja as Shino is, at least not yet. He does battle alongside his dog and closest friend, Akamaru, who's still only a puppy. Because Kiba's and Akamaru's fighting style involves launching physical attacks while working in coordination with eachother, they must improvise and be creative in order to make their attacks effective. Still, somewhere down the line, Kiba and Akamaru may discover and unlock a power of their own and surprise us with their strength.

Hikari, like Shino, relies on insects in her tracking and battling. The range of the species of insects with which the members of her clan are generally able to establish bonds, however, seems to be narrower than the range that is available to the members of the Aburame clan, and their tiny allies do not originate inside of their bodies, nor do the insects borrow chakra directly from their humans. Members of the Daishi clan are primarily known for breeding and raising butterflies, bees, moths, fireflies, silkworms and ladybugs in their gardens and orchards. The proper nurture of the fruits and flowers on which these insects feed requires the donation of chakra on the part of the growers. This produces insects who possess a great amount of chakra. Frequent meditation enables a ninja to form a strong bond with his or her insects. These little ones are then able to channel some of the chakra within their bodies into the service of their masters. Skilled ninjas are able to merge their chakra and coordinate their attacks with their insect allies in various ways, if so desired. At this time, Hikari has only mastered a few techniques.

Last of all are Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo, who, now that they've graduated, will be led in missions by Anko. At the moment, Karin and Suigetsu are not powerful fighters. Karin's chakra nature is sensory. She can heal others by transferring her own chakra to their bodies. She can also sense the chakra in humans and other living things and decipher its levels, its nature and its other characteristics. Though the soul chakra nature also runs in the Uzumaki bloodline, Karin has not exhibited any powers related to that chakra nature.

Suigetsu wishes to excel in the area of swordsmanship. He is already a good swordfighter, lithe and nimble, and has the ability to avoid taking damage from physical attacks by liquefying his body.

Our last young shinobi is Juugo. His chakra nature is anthropomorphic. A gentle soul, he can communicate with and make allies of birds and small animals, but generally only relies upon them to aid him in playing a support role. He also has the power to assume a monstrous physical form. Juugo can take on this form at will, but cannot exit it at will. When he is in this form, he becomes incredibly strong, but his ability to control his actions weakens greatly, and he becomes a danger to foes and comrades alike. Juugo can also be triggered into entering this state against his will.

Chapter Six

Though Kakashi had promised his genin that he'd meet with them at 7 am in the morning, he was an hour late. He spent most of that hour at the memorial stone of his late teammates, Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin. His lateness was a habit of his, a tribute he paid to Obito, the friend who, as his first and last gift to him, had given him the Sharingan.

Obito, Rin. You and I were never truly a team, were we? Obito and I did fight side-by-side near the very end, it's true. But in the beginning, I refused, and when I finally began to see reason, it was too late for you, Obito. You gave your life to protect one of your precious teammates. And, Rin, when you tried to tell me that you loved me and I rejected you, you stood behind me as I urged you to run, trying to protect the person that Obito trusted me to protect with his dying breath. You wouldn't move. Your words about your feelings for me were the last things that I heard from you, and, because my back was to you at that moment, you implanting Obito's eye in me. . .that was the last time I saw your face while you were alive. You were taken out while you stood behind me and died without a sound.

Before that day, I hated my father for leaving me, for letting me experience all the pain his decision had caused me. I hated you, Obito, for reminding me of the haze of innocence and hopefulness that was my past, the light that had seemed so gentle and warm in my earlier years, but now stared at my back more eerily than the dark did. And, Rin, I was indifferent to you. But after that day, though it didn't happen right away. . .while I can acknowledge the pain my father's actions caused me, I was able to put my fear aside, open my heart up and fill it with love for him. With your sacrifice, Obito, you helped me gain just a little bit of understanding of what my father tried so hard to accomplish.

Rin. . .for a while, I hated you - hated you for selfishly throwing your own life away - hated you for causing Obito's sacrifice to be in vain - hated you because. . .failing to protect the one Obito died to protect, for me, was like having his beliefs, my father's beliefs, crushed before my eyes once again. But I forgave you the same way I forgave Father. We were all sick people - little children weighed down by the messages our elders had fed us, trying to navigate as grown men and women in a world full of horror, grown men trying to be superhuman out of love for their comrades and breaking under the strain.

Not a day - in fact, not even a moment - passes but that I miss you. The feeling of missing you, sensei, Kushina-san, my father - that's made up my entire life now. You were all people who softened my life with the thing called love, something I only realized when I lost you. Without you, there's only that feeling of lonely longing - and an emptiness.

I have Uzumaki Naruto. An untalented troublemaker who somehow managed to graduate from the Academy. Uchiha Sasuke, the aloof prodigy who's on a quest for power and revenge. Deshimaru Miraku, a girl who isn't certain what path she wants to take.

I don't know how to feel and radiate love the way that you did. But I can do my best to pass what I understand of the message of Obito and my father down to those I have to teach and protect, and if I can't succeed in that goal . . .then I don't deserve to bear the title of sensei.

xxxxxxXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

"Hey, sensei!" came the indignant cry from Naruto when, at last, this prematurely-silver-haired jerk deigned to show his face. "I got up at the buttcrack of dawn just so I could be on time for this test you said you were going to give us! So where do you get off at being a whole hour late?!"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head apologetically. "My apologies. I got lost in thought on my way down Memory Lane."

Sasuke's eyes bulged. "You can't be serious! If you're really that dimwitted, you don't deserve to be a sensei! How did you ever make jonin?"

"Iruka-sensei would never be late, let alone by a whole hour!" Miraku yelled. "How could anyone be so unprofessional?"

"Good question. It's hard work, I'll admit, but in life, you have to pursue your passion." Kakashi held up his hands as if to ward off a pit bull attack. "Now I see that you all want to rip me to pieces, and you won't have to wait long for your chance. Let me explain the terms of the test."

From his belt dangled two small silver bells, which he removed and held up for the children to view. "The task is simple. You have four hours to take these bells from me. If you can get hold of at least one of these bells, you pass."

"What kind of a dumb test is that?" Miraku moaned. "We just graduated from the Academy. Why do we have to worry about a couple of bells?"

Kakashi's eyes smiled at the little inquirer. "No reason in particular." Then came the thunderclap that bowled all three children off of their feet. "Only this - whoever fails to retrieve a bell from me before the four hours are up. . .will turn in his headband and go back to the Academy."

Miraku gasped. The color left Naruto's face.

"Back to the Academy!" he croaked. "But that isn't fair! Why?"

"Because I say so," was the blood-boiling reply. Kakashi tucked the bells into his belt once again. "No need to worry, though. If your skills as a shinobi are up to par, you'll have nothing to worry about."

Sasuke hadn't made a sound, but Naruto could tell that he, too, was shaken. I don't know anything about Kakashi-sensei's powers, just whispering about how fearsome he is and how he's got the Sharingan. But if even Sasuke's scared, this guy must be really strong!

Then another realization hit him. "Sensei, you only have two bells! Where's the third one?"

"There is no third one," Kakashi informed the horrified kids calmly.

"Then how are we each supposed to get one?" Sasuke demanded.

"Another good question. Hmm. . .now that I think about it, I suppose you won't all get one."

"Then that means one of us will be going back to the Academy." Sasuke's voice was flat.

"I suppose so. Then again, you never know - it could be that all three of you end up going back to the Academy."

Naruto's fists clenched. "We're not that weak!"

A moment later, however, the complaining of his empty stomach made him question his proclamations of strength.

"Four hours. That's exactly lunchtime. What part of grabbing bells from you is supposed to make us sick to our stomachs?"

"Oh, that. That story was just a little trick I played to slow you down a little and raise the stakes of the test." There was a collective groan from the kids. "I nearly forgot to add this, but whoever fails to retrieve a bell will also be tied to a post, will have no lunch and will be forced to sit and watch while I eat mine."

Kakashi unpocketed a book, much to the bewilderment of the children, opened it up and buried his nose into it. A full minute passed, with all three of the little ones standing around, regarding their teacher and his book, awaiting any instructions they assumed he intended to read them from it. At length, Kakashi turned a page, glanced up and seemed to notice that they were still there.

"Are you three just going to stand there until your four hours are up?"

Oh, man, Naruto groaned to himself. Damn it. How am I ever going to make it with no food in my stomach and no moves except the Sexy Jutsu?


	7. Chapter 7

As you can guess, Sasuke wasn't feeling much more confident or at ease than Naruto was.

Kakashi of the Sharingan. Older Brother's told me about him. His use of the Sharingan is as advanced as Older Brother's. No doubt he knows Fireball Jutsu, just like I do, and lightning attacks, just like Older Brother. He can use foresight to predict an opponent's attacks. If he enters Recording Mode in time, he can also store away the memory of a person's jutsu hand-signs or taijutsu moves. That means that even if we did know any hand-sign-activated divine or elemental jutsu that he didn't know - and we don't - he could copy them. Sasuke bowed his head. My Recording Mode's still weak, and using it takes too much chakra. And only two of us can pass this test. Meanwhile, he's standing there reading a book. . .and from the look in his eyes and the blush on his upper cheeks, it's disgusting, perverted trash. I can't believe this. A perverted freak who can't even make a real clone for a teammate and a lying, mask-wearing, PUBLIC smut-reader for a jonin. God damnit. Why, Kami-sama? Is this your way of telling me I should just give up, leave those other two bells for Naruto and Miraku to try to get at, go back to the Academy and pray I get a NORMAL sensei and NORMAL teammates next year?

Miraku scanned the faces of her teammates, instinctively, subconsciously seeking cues on what she ought to expect and how she should feel. The boys both look scared. I've never seen either of them look afraid. Sasuke-kun's always been confident and aloof; he's the strongest person in our class. And Naruto-kun's always been cocky and hotheaded. Little by little, any courage that she had possessed left her. I've never been that great of a ninja. Kakashi-sensei's already tricked us once. Noone even warned us we'd have to pass a second test to become ninja in the first place. Now . . .I've got a feeling we've just been set up to fail.

Miraku's state did not escape Sasuke's notice. Miraku's given up before we've even started. I can see it just by looking at her. Relying on her for help would be as good as useless. Then Naruto hasn't given up yet, but he's a knuckleheaded idiot with no useful jutsu!

Sasuke then came to a realization. He jabbed Naruto in the ribs, startling him, then motioned him backwards so that they'd be out of earshot of Kakashi.

"Wait!" Miraku hurried after the boys. "What are you two doing?"

"Yeah, what's the deal, Sasuke?"

Sasuke indicated Kakashi. "Isn't it obvious? Look at Kakashi-sensei. He's reading smut!"

"Huh? Smut?! How do you figure that? Can you see through the book with your Sharingan or something?"

Sasuke facepalmed. "No, idiot; you're thinking of the Byakugan! I know it's smut because of the look on his face. You of all people should be able to recognize it. Listen, I need you to perform that stupid jutsu."

It took several moments for the words to register with Naruto. "WATT?! You mean my Sexy Jutsu?!"

"Why don't you just scream it so the whole world can hear?" Sasuke hissed. "Of course I mean that jutsu. You don't know any other moves, do you?"

Naruto, however, wasn't done. He aimed a finger at Sasuke. "Hey! First you call my jutsu disgusting and act like it's the worst thing ever, and now you want me to use it? Why?! And aren't we supposed to be competing against eachother, anyway?"

"We are." Sasuke studied the ground. "But even in competitions, there are times when competitors have to work together. Alone, we have no chance of getting a single bell; Kakashi-sensei's just too strong. Don't look all confused. Haven't you watched a competition show?"

Naruto began to understand. "You mean how like on those cooking shows, the people who go up against eachother in the final round have to work together in the beginning? Maybe they have to cook curry together, so one person chops the tomatoes, and another one cuts the meat, and someone else cooks the rice. And if they don't all work together -"

" - then they all lose," Sasuke finished for him. "The way things look now, if we try to attack Kakashi by ourselves, we won't even HAVE a competition. We'll just get crushed. Do you want a shot at one of those bells or not?"

There was only one answer for Naruto. A few more hasty whispers were exchanged. Naruto and Sasuke then took off and vanished into the nearby foliage.

Miraku attempted to hurry after them, but, after a few steps, slowed and came to a stop. Sasuke-kun. . .took off with Naruto-kun. They both just left me. I didn't even have a part in their plan.

But why? Sasuke-kun talked about needing to work together. . .but he only asked Naruto-kun for help.

She stared at the spot on which they'd stood just moments before. I. . .think I get it now. It's because there are only two bells and only one person can win a bell. If Sasuke-kun felt like Naruto-kun had a better chance of getting the second bell than I did, anyway. . .he probably just decided he'd rather have him as an ally than me. I guess that means I'm on my own.

Slowly, Miraku turned back to face Kakashi, who hadn't made a move, but still had his nose buried in that book of his. She swallowed the knot that was beginning to gather in her throat. I'll probably fail, but who cares? It wouldn't be so bad if I failed. I'm not ready to be on a team with those two, anyway.

Then, after another moment of regarding Kakashi, who lounged around, reading as though he hadn't a care in the world, Miraku became angry. This whole thing was Kakashi-sensei's fault to begin with. With that thought, she struck the ground with her foot to activate one of the few jutsu she knew.

"Nature-Style: Strawberry Plant Jutsu!"

The ground began to reverberate and glow with green chakra. Thorned vines, as thick as ropes, broke the surface of the ground and snaked their way towards Kakashi.

"Slow as a snail," Kakashi murmured behind his book. "What exactly do you plan on accomplishing with that jutsu?"

Miraku had no answer to give. Kakashi-sensei was right; most plant jutsu were, by their very nature, relatively slow-moving, and she did not have the necessary skill or mastery of plant jutsu to make the techniques speedier or especially powerful. She didn't know, either, what she hoped to accomplish with that jutsu, but she wanted to get in at least one hit on Kakashi-sensei - just one prick with a thorn, punch or kick, and she'd be satisfied. As her vines were creeping ever closer to his ankles and he hadn't yet bothered to move his lazy behind, Miraku circled around the plant and came charging at him from another direction. She whipped out a kunai and prepared to strike.

Kakashi waited until she was less than two feet away from him and his feet and the vines just inches apart. Then, just as she lunged at him, in a move that Miraku ought to have had sense enough not to fall for, he leapt out of the way.

Miraku, who had thrown all of her weight behind her attack, suffered the consequences of her reckless move. Unable to catch herself, she hit the ground. Immediately, her own vines encircled her, wound themselves around her from shoulder to foot. They tightened around her, and she began to feel the bite of the thorns. She went rigid with pain and with fear of inviting more agony by moving.

Thorns - so many of them, burying themselves deeper and deeper into her flesh. Miraku quivered with the effort of enduring, of suppressing her screams. This plant was a being - a conscious, heartless living thing, for it dug into her with its thorns with steady, pulse-like motions, and only a person was capable of torturing another person with such deliberateness and persistence.

But - no. I'm the one who p-powered this jutsu. Miraku gasped for air. How could I? How could I have ever wanted - to do this to someone else?

Those were the last thoughts that Miraku had before Kakashi struck her in the back of the head, giving her over to the relief of unconsciousness.

xxxxxxXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

From their hiding place, the hollow of a tree, Sasuke and Naruto watched as Kakashi came sauntering into view, whistling a tune. His eyes left the pages of his beloved book long enough for him to cast about the clearing as if he were looking for them.

"One fresh, tender young graduate down and two more that have yet to be slaughtered. Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"One down!" An alarmed Naruto nearly emerged from their hiding place. "What's he talking about? What's happened to Miraku-chan?"

Sasuke grabbed him in the nick of time. "Cool it, Naruto; not now! Keep still, or you'll blow our cover!"

Naruto had to force himself to obey. "What'd he mean about 'slaughtering' us? You don't think he hurt Miraku-chan? He couldn't have! What kind of a jerk would beat up on Miraku-chan?"

Though he was as troubled as Naruto was, Sasuke only said, "We've all got to face off against Kakashi-sensei to have any hope of passing this stupid test. Right now, it doesn't matter whether you're a girl or not. Worry about Miraku later. Right now, focus on those bells."

Sasuke had created an Illusionary clone of himself out to distract Kakashi. It was time for Naruto to make his move. Kakashi was greeted by the sight of an extraordinarily lovely, buxom, golden-haired maiden whose only garment was a small cloud.

"Kakashi-sama." The maiden's voice was softer than the white clouds themselves, and her eyes were a gentler blue than that of the sky.

Kakashi said nothing, but a blush appeared beneath the edge of his mask. His book was forgotten.

"Kakashi-sama." The maiden took a step forward. "I've been dying to meet you - and only you."

Wow, the "maiden" thought. Kakashi-sensei's completely dumbstruck. He really IS a pervert! And to think Iruka-sensei said this would never work in battle.

It could be only a matter of time, however, before Kakashi came to his senses, and it was certainly only a matter of time before Naruto's jutsu deactivated. Naruto wasted no more time, but pressed closer and lifted his hands as if to caress the face of Kakashi-sama, his hero. For the rest of his life, he would wonder just how Kakashi would have reacted had he given him time to react. He closed in on the belt, however, and caught hold of the strings of all three of the bells. His heart soared. Success!

Kakashi realized he had been duped. At that moment, Sasuke came sailing down from a nearby treetop, posed to deliver a dropkick to the head. Kakashi was swift. Sasuke made his epic landing only to have sensei transform into a wooden post a moment later. A substitution.

When Sasuke was bowled back and hit the ground, however, he vanished in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi wasn't the only one who had been playing tricks. The real Sasuke emerged from his hiding place.

"Damn it!"

The Sexy Jutsu wore off, leaving a dejected, chagrined Naruto in its place. "I guess my jutsu really wasn't any good. Sorry."

"It's not your fault," Sasuke admitted. "I should've moved faster. Anyway, standing around feeling guilty won't help us now. What we need to do is figure out where the real Kakashi went."

Sasuke. . .just admitted to making a mistake. I didn't see that coming. I've always seen him as. . .such a perfect guy.

The boys found Miraku lying between the roots of a tree, unconscious. Her dress had been ripped and pulled in countless places, and her arms and legs were covered with scratches and blood-stained scrapes.

Naruto fell to his knees beside her. "MIRAKU-CHAN!"

His cry seemed to return Miraku to consciousness. Her eyes opened. Naruto tried to ignore the way that she stiffened when she recognized him.

"Are you ok, Miraku-chan?"

"Naruto-kun. . . Sasuke-kun?" Miraku pulled herself into a sitting position, half-blinded by the glare of the sunlight. "I fell into a thorny plant jutsu that I tried to use against Kakashi-sensei. . .but I'm ok now."

She began to nurse some of the cuts on her arms. She spoke around the pain. "What are you two doing? Our time hasn't run out yet, has it? Have you . . .given up or something?"

"Given up? We've just gotten started! Just watch me, Miraku-chan. I'll protect you. I'll beat Kakashi and win those bells for you!"

Miraku sweatdropped. "F-for me?"

"Why do you sound so bothered by that?" Naruto moaned. "Why don't you like me?"

Sasuke cut in, rescuing Miraku. "Can we talk about your love life later? If we're going to have any chance of getting those bells, we've got to devise a plan that's good enough to beat Kakashi-sensei!"


	8. Chapter 8

After allowing Miraku a few moments to recuperate, the little ones set off together on search of Kakashi. When they found him, he was standing with his back against a tree, one leg crossed over the other, book open in his hand.

"Ah, hello there, you three." The children jumped; he hadn't even removed his eyes from his book to warn them that he was aware of their presence. "I thought you'd gotten lost in the forest. Nice to see you again."

"We aren't that stupid," Sasuke growled. "Stop talking down to us and put that book down so you can actually see us again."

Kakashi's eyes drifted from one page to the next. "Eh…I think I'll keep my eyes on something that actually interests me. How about you?"

"Feast your eyes on THIS!" Naruto entered Sexy Jutsu mode once again. Naruko ran her fingers through the ends of her silky golden hair.

"Kakashi-sama. Darling, look at me. Please do!"

Naruto was pleased to detect the faintest of blushes, but Kakashi didn't lower his book. "Your sensei wasn't born yesterday. You'll have to come up with some new tricks. Or is that all you have?"

Naruto returned to normal mode. Damn it. He's keeping his eyes on his book so he can't fall for my jutsu!

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged looks. They had no choice but to go on the offensive anyway. Sasuke charged at Kakashi headlong.

"This will get you to look!"

Kakashi didn't stir until Sasuke attempted to uppercut him. Sasuke was knocked back with a kick that was so swift that Naruto didn't even see Kakashi in motion. Miraku, in spite of her own injuries, was behind Sasuke to catch him.

Sasuke got to his feet. Kakashi's shoe had left redness and visible scratch marks on his knee, and the look on his face made it clear to Naruto that the blow had affected him.

Kakashi-sensei isn't even an Uchiha, but he's beating Sasuke without even trying - or using his Sharingan. To me, Sasuke's always been the strongest, coolest guy. But in front of Kakashi-sensei… we're all so small and weak. The leg Sasuke got kicked on…compared to the one he got kicked with, it's so tiny. We're all just being toyed with. If Sasuke can't even do anything, how are even two of us ever going to pass this stupid test?

Suddenly, Naruto was angry. Just who does this guy think he is?

"Sasuke!" he found himself commanding in a whisper. "Make a clone of yourself and attack him from two angles. I'll attack him from behind. If nothing else, we can get him to drop that book and look at us like we're ninja!"

An idea seemed to occur to Sasuke. Half of a smirk appeared on his face. "Make your move."

Naruto broke into a run. As he circled around the tree against which Kakashi stood, his target sidestepped to avoid him, but was immediately confronted by a clone of Sasuke. This time, Sasuke remained just out of striking or kicking range and attacked with Fireball Jutsu. Kakashi deftly dodged the attack. For his book, however, it was too late; the bundle of scorched, tattered pages and the blackened remains of the book cover fell to the ground.

Naruto, who had shimmied up the trunk of the tree, planted his feet sole-first against it and launched himself at the back of Kakashi's head. Kakashi vanished, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Before Naruto could land on the spot where his clone had stood, Kakashi was behind him. A sweeping kick to his legs sent him flying. Naruto's head was the first part of him to hit the ground, and he bowled Clone-Sasuke over on the way, taking him out.

Sasuke seized this opportunity and went in for an uppercut. His fist came close to making contact, but Kakashi reacted just in time, catching him by the wrist, and tossed him several feet away. Sasuke landed beside Naruto.

Naruto managed to sit upright. Hunger was beginning to set in. He was sore, his temples throbbed, and he felt drained. His vision was blurred because of the painful impact of his landing.

Kakashi stood back to regard his little opponents, who sat together in a grimy, battered heap. Sasuke had a hand on the shoulder of each of his teammates.

"You burned my book. All three of you, graduates of the Academy, and that's the best you can do?"

From the little ones, there was no response. Without another word, Kakashi turned and walked away. He disappeared into the foliage, leaving the children alone.

Sasuke broke the silence to address Naruto. "You ok?"

Naruto pounded the ground with his fists. "That jerk. How dare he try to mess up our chances of being ninja? After all the years we spent in the Academy…noone even told us we'd have to jump through more hoops!"

"No matter how hard we studied in the Academy, we could never beat Kakashi-sensei, not even if we all fought together," Miraku despaired. "If we get sent back, all of our studying was for nothing."

"Both of you, stop whining," Sasuke scolded, "and, Naruto, stop wasting your energy on trying to act tough and having temper tantrums! If we just use our heads, we'll figure out a way to beat Kakashi-sensei. First we've got to replenish our energy. We can't fight or think while we're weak with hunger."

"We can't do anything about being hungry," Naruto reminded him. "Kakashi-sensei won't let us eat lunch unless we beat him."

"Who's he to tell us what we can and can't do? As far as we're concerned, he's our enemy. We'll just have to get our hands on those lunches without being caught. If all else fails, we eat while we run."

"Yeah, but…" Naruto trailed off.

" 'But' what?" Miraku prompted.

Naruto's face grew hot. "It's just that… I didn't bring any lunch."

Sasuke's eyes bulged. "You didn't bring any lunch? Why? What the hell were you thinking?"

"I - I was counting on passing Kakashi-sensei's test and then going for ramen right away."

Sasuke groaned. "Of course. You and your ramen, your ramen and you. Now look what your ramen's gotten us into!"

"Hey!" Naruto protested. "It's not like I can't still fight; you're the one who keeps yelling about hunger and being weak!"

"Don't be a moron. You're in no shape to fight, and neither is Miraku. You'll just have to eat my lunch."

This caught Naruto off-guard.

"Eat your lunch! But, Sasuke -!"

Sasuke forestalled any further objections. "There's no point in arguing to be polite. I may be a little weak with hunger, but I still have chakra left, and I have jutsu. I can hold out without food a little longer, but I need you to be strong enough to help me face off against Kakashi."

Here Miraku ventured to offer her help. "I have chakra left, too. I could make a clone and try to sneak it past Kakashi-sensei to get our bento boxes."

Sasuke smiled at her, causing her heart to skip a beat. "Go for it, then. If Kakashi gives you any trouble, we'll back your clone up, Miraku."

Miraku produced a clone and sent her off into the surrounding foliage. The little ones all sat together, waiting in anxious silence, trying to ignore the grumblings of their stomachs.

"Is your clone having any trouble, Miraku-chan?" Naruto took the liberty of asking.

"Don't pester me!" Miraku snapped. "I'm doing my best. I have to concentrate!"

A miserable eternity seemed to pass by. At last, to the relief (and, it must be confessed, the half-amazement) of the little ones, Miraku's clone reappeared to deliver the bento boxes.

"Wow." Naruto's eyes shimmered. "Miraku-chan, you're amazing!"

"It almost doesn't make sense," Sasuke mused, even as he passed his bento box to Naruto. "You'd think Kakashi-sensei would've noticed you at some point. Where is he? What kind of trick is he trying to pull?"

Miraku opened her bento box. "Well, whatever Kakashi-sensei's doing, we've still got our lunch. We'd better hurry and eat. I'm starving!"

She paused then, looked at Sasuke's empty hands and blushed.

Even if I'm starving to death - it's embarrassing to eat in front of someone who doesn't have any food, let alone Sasuke-kun.

Therefore, after a moment, Miraku bowed her head and held the box out to her teammate. "S-sasuke-kun…?"

"Never mind me. Eat your own food and get your strength back. Or, if you're eager to share with someone, share with Naruto."

UGH. I should never have offered. But I guess I won't have any use for it, anyway. The boys can still fight, but after what happened with my plant jutsu…I don't feel up to trying to fight anymore. Miraku fairly thrust her lunch at the startled Naruto.

"Miraku-chan! You don't have to give me -!"

"Please, just take it. I - I don't eat that much, anyway." Miraku deposited her bento box into Naruto's lap.

Naruto regarded the bento boxes before him. A strange warmth began to grow in his chest, and a knot gathered in his throat.

"Miraku-chan… Sasuke…you guys."

Sasuke and Miraku sat around and waited for him to stop being sentimental and put their sacrifices to good use. When at last Naruto did pick up a pair of chopsticks and lift a morsel of food to his lips, however, the flash of what appeared to be lightning caused him to jump out of his skin.

"I hope you've enjoyed your meal so far." Kakashi loomed over the tiny genin, who huddled together, wide-eyed and white-faced. His right hand crackled with electricity. "It may well have been your last. Anything to say?"


	9. Chapter 9

As Kakashi stood over them, the lightning crackling overhead, Naruto was certain his doom was near. Sasuke, despite his own fear, positioned himself between his teammates and Kakashi.

"You've treated us like dirt, Kakashi-sensei. I don't know what your deal is, but you've tricked us, starved us, kicked us around, read your disgusting smut right in front of us and tried to get us sent back to the Academy for no good reason. If you're so petty that you plan to try and kill us for eating food, then I plan to protect myself and these two or die trying!"

Naruto, determined not to let Sasuke face Kakashi alone, got to his feet and did his best to stand his ground, and even little Miraku followed suit. Side by side, they braced themselves, prepared for what would literally be the fight of their lives.

"You pass."

These calmly-spoken words accompanied the receding of the lightning. None of the little ones were certain that they'd heard correctly.

"We. . .what?" This was from Naruto, who sank to the ground.

Kakashi crouched down, and Sasuke and Miraku joined Naruto. "I said you passed."

"Passed what?" Miraku's voice was small with apprehension.

"The test I gave you. What else?"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded. "How - how did we pass?"

"Yeah!" Naruto pitched in upon finding his voice. "We didn't get a single bell! Is this another one of your tricks?"

Kakashi removed the bells in question from his belt. He held them out for the children to see. To their surprise, however, he let go and allowed them to fall into the dirt.

"These bells never meant anything. The test I gave you was a test of teamwork."

"Teamwork?" the puzzled children echoed.

"I challenged you three to compete over two bells even though there weren't enough for you each to claim one. If I'd offered enough bells for you each to take one, there would have been no sense of competition. By turning what seemed like a competition into an opportunity to support eachother and work together, you passed."

"I still don't get it," Naruto declared. "Why would you want to make us compete against eachother . . .to test our sense of teamwork?"

"It's because you're all TEAMMATES." Kakashi indicated the bells, lying there in the dirt. "The scenario of three people needing a bell each while only two bells are available represents the real-life scenarios you three may face. What will you do when there's something that you and your teammates all want, but it seems like there isn't enough of it to go around? Will you put yourselves first, or will you consider the well-being of your comrades at all times?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Sasuke snapped. "Of course we'd consider our comrades. Do you think we're a bunch of heartless scumbags or no-good brats? And another thing - if this was all about teamwork, why didn't you pass us earlier when we fought you together and burned your smut?"

"That's simple." Kakashi's tone became grave. "Because Miraku wasn't included in your teamwork."

This silenced both boys.

Kakashi unpocketed a bottle of ointment. He brought Miraku closer.

"Try to hold still. I'll put this on your cuts to help them heal."

As he applied the ointment, Kakashi went on. "I couldn't pass you three because Miraku wasn't a part of any of your plans until she went for food in the very end. No matter who's the strongest fighter, the quickest thinker or the cleverest planner, it isn't teamwork unless all of the members of the team are on the same page. Naruto, Sasuke, if you'd succeeded in taking the bells from me, according to the rules of the competition, Miraku would have had to return to the Academy. Furthermore, if you had all fought together, Miraku would have been less likely to get hurt."

Sasuke and Naruto were shamefaced. Kakashi addressed his female subordinate. "Miraku, you're strong. But you tried to attack me alone and in a foolish way, with no real plan or purpose in mind, disregarding the fact that the point of the test was to win one of the bells. You also hesitate, withdraw, and get discouraged too easily."

The little ones, all chagrined now, studied the ground.

"We suck," Naruto muttered. "We had to be tricked into acting like a real team. We would've messed up so bad if this had been a real competition."

"No. That isn't true."

Kakashi rose. As the little ones watched, he walked off, stopping a few feet away from them. His back was to them.

Naruto couldn't keep the concern out of his voice. "Kakashi-sensei. . .?"

"No. That's not it at all. The test served only one purpose - showing me whether or not you had the hearts and minds of good teammates and comrades. Tests and challenges will change. But good hearts and minds aren't fickle; they don't change that easily, aren't swayed by the changing natures of the challenges you face. You three proved that you had the hearts and minds of teammates and friends on your own."

The children were all standing now, side by side. Kakashi turned to face them once again. Naruto didn't need to see beneath his mask to understand what was in his eyes.

Kakashi-sensei's. . .smiling at us.

Kakashi came to stand before them. He knelt down to place one big gloved hand on the shoulder of each boy. Then, without warning, all three tiny ninja were pulled into an embrace.

"Sensei!" Naruto's astonished squeak was muffled by Kakashi's shoulder, against which his face was pressed. He could feel Miraku shifting beside him, the warmth of her body against his, and the softness of her hair as it brushed his cheek.

I've never been . . .hugged like this before. Naruto didn't stir or utter another word. Kakashi-sensei's hug feels strong and cold and warm and soft at the same time. And we're all in it. . . Miraku-chan, Sasuke and me. . .like a big warm bundle. . Iike. . .like how I've always imagined a family would be. But could it really. . .could this really be it. . .the family I've always wanted?


	10. Chapter 10

"WATT?"

Iruka's explosive, astonished shout could probably be heard halfway across Konoha.

"I passed!" Naruto repeated. He stood at the head of the cluster of genin who had come to complain to Iruka, a comically-indignant little picture. "Why didn't you tell me there would be another test after you gave us our headbands, sensei?! I know why; it's because you were counting on me to fail and have to come back to the Academy. You tricked me!"

"You tricked all of us!" TenTen declared. "How could you make us think we'd graduated and were finally ninja and then spring another test on us?"

"Yeah," Kiba pitched in. "What a dirty trick, Iruka-sensei!"

"IDI-YAAAAAAAAACHTS!" The yell caused mouths to clamp shut, at least for a moment. "Did you think you could just walk out of the door and become shinobi because you were able to make a clone? You have no idea of the dangers you'll face out there!"

Naruto mustered the nerve to shoot back, "But Miraku-chan, Sasuke and I all had great teamwork; Kakashi-sensei said so! And besides, you said my Sexy Jutsu wouldn't be any good in a battle, but it was!"

"Hatake Kakashi," the children could all hear their sensei muttering. "I've always seen him as a conceited slave-driver, one who would only accept the best as his students. After all, the man's never passed a single genin since the day he became a jonin. I never imagined he could be won over by a kid's perverted tricks!"

The indignant murmuring had resumed. Iruka stood abruptly and clapped his hands. "Clear out, all of you! I'll be locking the classroom momentarily."

"But what about our complaints, sensei?" Suigetsu protested.

Iruka gave out absentminded pats to small heads on his way to the door. "I'm sorry you're angry, but I'm proud of you all for passing. Sensei needs to go now. Later." I have to talk to Kakashi. I know I was a selfish fool to pass Naruto, hating the thought of him knowing I was the one who had put his dream on hold again - but who could have predicted that Kakashi …no. No matter what he says, I can't accept his putting Naruto's life on the line when he doesn't have any of the skills necessary to be a ninja!

None of the little ones got to witness this conversation. They flocked out of the Academy building, grumbling amongst themselves all the while.

"Sensei didn't even offer us a proper apology," Shino observed darkly.

"I do not think we should be upset, TenTen," Lee remarked to his new teammate. "We should be thankful to have passed Gai-sensei's test and to have a teacher who is eager to push us to our limits."

"YOU may not mind being pushed to your limit with pop quizzes," TenTen groused, "but Iruka-sensei still pulled one over on us. It wasn't fair!"

"The only thing that isn't fair," Karin, who had overheard their exchange, barged in, making sure to be loud enough for the subject of her ridicule to hear, "is how DEAD-LAST got to graduate along with the rest of us when he couldn't even make a shadow clone!"

Naruto flared up. He shot back, "Don't act like you're so great, Four-Eyes, just because you got to take the test with the two kids you've been with since you were in kindergarten! If I were in your shoes, passing a teamwork test would've been easy for me, too. You're just a weak girl who probably only passed because you were riding on your friends' coattails, anyway!"

Karin went crimson. "Better than you! You're a useless waste of space who only passed because you seduced sensei with your freaky jutsu!"

"I'd call a jutsu like that an unfair advantage," the sly Suigetsu pitched in, "wouldn't you, Uzumaki?"

"Karin, Suigetsu, enough," Juugo cut in, just as Naruto prepared to yell back. "Stop starting fights, and no more complaining. Rock Lee's right. We should be grateful we passed Anko-sensei's test. The life of a ninja isn't about fun and games. Things will only get harder from here, so put whatever you've learned from our test to good use. You two bicker with eachother even more than you bicker with Naruto."

Karin was visibly chastened, but Suigetsu's grin didn't fade. "All right, whatever you say. Don't start lecturing, Juugo."

Kiba walked with his hands behind his head and little Akamaru perched on his shoulder. "The Ino-Shika-Cho squad sure is lucky, aren't they? THEY didn't have to take a test."

"A test of what?" Hyuuga Neji scoffed. He was Hyuuga Hinata's cousin, the older ninja and prodigy with whom TenTen and Lee had been teamed up. "They are three worthless fools who were placed on the same team only because of who their parents are. One of them is so weak and lazy that it's a wonder he hasn't stopped breathing because doing so requires too much effort. The second one is a coward and a glutton, and the third one is a shrill kunoichi who will never amount to anything."

"Neji-san." Tenten's voice was full of sad reproach. Her gaze drifted between her teammates and Ino, who, fortunately, showed no signs of having heard Neji. Lee said nothing, but placed a hand on her shoulder.

Naruto, however, came to an angry halt. He whipped around to face this jerk. "Hey, you! Say whatever you want about Shikamaru, but why'd you have to drag Choji into it? And who are you to decide who's going to amount to anything and who won't? What the hell's your problem?"

"Naruto-kun!" Miraku cried. "What are you doing? He wasn't even talking to us!"

Neji, who had recovered from his surprise, regarded this frumpy, blond-headed loudmouth. One corner of his mouth quirked up, though the icy contempt in his pale eyes made it obvious that the smile wasn't a friendly one. "Listen to your teammate's advice. I don't need to be lectured by an idiot who graduated from the Academy by the skin of his teeth."

The enraged Naruto lunged for Neji, but Sasuke checked him with a firm grip on his arm. "You think you're so high and mighty, huh? Just because you're supposed to be some kind of a genius!"

"Naruto!" Sasuke tugged him back. "Enough. Let it go. Come on, let's walk."

Naruto had no choice but to obey. Behind him, Neji scoffed, causing his blood to boil.

"Just who the hell does that guy think he is?" Naruto burst out as soon as he and his teammates were out of hearing range of Neji. "What crawled up his butt and died?"

Sasuke spoke quietly. "He's the son of Hyuuga Hizashi, brother of the head of the Hyuuga clan. I don't know everything that happened, but Older Brother told me that when he was little, Hyuuga Hinata, the clan head's daughter, got kidnapped by a ninja of the Hidden Cloud. To save Hinata, one of the Hyuuga killed the kidnapper. The Raikage threatened to go to war with Konoha if the head of the Hyuuga clan wasn't killed in retribution for the death of the kidnapper. Lord Third gave in to keep a war from breaking out."

Naruto's outrage was replaced with shock and disbelief. "Lord Third… gave in? You've got to be making that up. That's so wrong!"

"It's awful." Miraku's voice was small.

"I'm not making it up." Sasuke jammed his hands into his pockets. "But that's not the whole story. Older Brother says Lord Hizashi and the head of the clan, Lord Hiashi, were twins. So the head of the clan wouldn't have to die, Lord Hizashi was killed in his place. His head was delivered to the Cloud so that they'd think Lord Hiashi had been killed."

Miraku gasped into her hands. Naruto was silent.

So that's why the guy's so angry. His dad got murdered…to stop a war, and that's why he seems like he hates everyone. He felt torn, conflicted. But it's not Choji's fault or even stupid Ino's fault they were born the kids of clan heads and his dad died for the sake of one. That bastard has no right to use the fact he's a so-called prodigy to tell people what they can and can't ever be!


	11. Chapter 11

At Sasuke's invitation, Miraku and Naruto accompanied him on his walk home. Neither of the guests had ever set foot on the Uchiha compound grounds before this day.

It's so quiet, Naruto observed to himself as they made their way down those dirt roads, past houses, temples, grocer's stands and shops. There are so many houses, but I hardly ever hear any noise coming from them. There are all these stands, but no one's standing at them selling anything. They're empty. The windows of these stores are all dark. It's like what you'd expect on a holiday or something, but without all the cheer.

Then Naruto caught Sasuke allowing his gaze to linger longer on one of those vacant stands than was necessary, and the realization hit him full force: It's quiet because the people who lived in these houses and sold stuff at these stands…are all gone.

Abruptly, Sasuke's back went rigid, and he quickened his pace. He didn't spare his teammates a backwards glance as he spoke. "My house is just around the corner. Older Brother will jump down my throat if I come in late. Come on, let's hurry up."

Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, rose to greet him and the little visitors when they entered the living room. Huh, Naruto thought, he doesn't look anything like Sasuke. The only things they have in common are their black hair and eyes. Sasuke's brother isn't pale like he is, and he's got those deep lines running from the corners of his eyes down his face. They make him look kind of weirdly old. But he isn't scary-looking and intimidating like I thought he'd be. He actually looks nice.

"Hey, Older Brother." Sasuke slipped his shoes off.

Itachi's gentle dark eyes smiled at the little ones. "You've brought friends for once, 'touto. What's the occasion?"

A streak of a blush crossed Sasuke's nose. He averted his face. "There's no occasion. They're my new teammates. I told you about them yesterday. They're Deshimaru Miraku and Uzumaki Naruto."

Miraku bowed in greeting to Itachi, but Naruto was too busy comparing and contrasting the facial features of the Uchiha brothers to remember his manners.

"Mikaru-chan, Naruto-kun. It's nice to meet you."

"Fix us lunch, Older Brother. We're starving."

"I didn't expect you to bring company." Itachi headed for the kitchen. "If I'd known you would, I would have gotten more groceries. I'll see what I can put together."

Less than an hour later, the youngsters were seated around the dining room table, shoveling their way through mountains of chicken pepper curry, saffron rice, stir-fried vegetables and freshly-toasted, buttered flatbread. Naruto voiced his delight. "Big brother Itachi, your cooking's better than Old Man Ichiraku's!"

"That's high praise indeed; thank you, 'touto." With laughing eyes, Itachi refilled cups of tea. "What have you been doing all day that's worked up such an appetite? After the test Kakashi-sensei gave you yesterday, I would think you'd want to take a day off from training."

Sasuke began, "We were just -" but was cut off by Naruto. "Yeah, well, that's just what we've been doing all day, big brother Itachi!"

Itachi looked up from the teapot, bemused. "What do you mean by that?"

"NARUTO!" a scarlet-faced Sasuke hissed, though he went unheard.

"What do I mean?! Iruka-sensei tricked us! Giving us a clone test and telling me I wouldn't make it as a ninja just because I came up with my own jutsu, then telling me I passed. So he gave us all headbands, but then it turned out we had to take this really hard test that our jonin gave us, and if we flunked, we'd have to give our headbands back and do school all over again!"

Itachi held up a hand. "Slow down, 'touto. I -"

But Naruto wasn't finished. "And it was so unfair! It was like getting a pop quiz in math or spelling, only with twice the unfairness! So then there was Kakashi-sensei - he beat us and starved us, and he read smut in front of us and kicked Sasuke just because we made him stop! Later on he told us he just wanted to teach us teamwork, so it was ok, but Iruka-sensei still owed us an apology! So we waited all morning to see if he was coming to school today, and finally he did, but then he just yelled at us and called us idiots just for wanting to be ninja and locked us out of the classroom!"

Itachi was disapproving. "Sasuke. You lay in wait for Iruka-sensei so you could storm into the Academy and argue with him about your teamwork test? What kind of behavior is that? He's your sensei. You have to listen to him and show him respect."

"Don't tell me off, Older Brother. It wasn't even my idea; it was Naruto's!"

"HEY!"

Leaving his spot, Itachi came over to place a gentle hand on the unruly blond head. "Listen, Naruto, Sasuke, Mikaru-chan. I know you three may think that Iruka-sensei is too strict. But he has his reasons for feeling and acting the way he does, reasons you may be too young to understand."

"Ugh," Naruto moaned. "Too young to understand? You sound just like Iruka-sensei."

Sasuke, for his part, jerked defiantly away from his brother's hand when he attempted to stroke his head. "The only thing we understand is that we want to be strong shinobi. We're not stupid little kids anymore!"

Naruto saw a flicker of something that resembled pain or worry cross Itachi's face, but he erased all expression from it. " 'touto, you never have been a stupid little kid. I'm not trying to belittle you. I only want you to keep this obsession with being strong in check."

"I've told you, it's not about being cool or strong." Sasuke's voice rose. "And it's not an obsession! I'm going to find that certain someone, and I'm going to avenge Mother and Father. That's my goal!"

"Sasuke." There was a weariness in Itachi's voice. "Little one…let's just talk about this later."

As everyone had finished eating, Itachi began to clear the table, declining the offers of help he got from the kids. Sasuke drifted away from the table and out of the dining room. Naruto followed him into his room.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto sat beside Sasuke, who now sat on the edge of the bed and studied his feet. "What was that all about? I didn't mean to start a fight between you and your brother."

Sasuke said nothing.

"Big brother Itachi seems pretty nice, though, actually. I mean…he smiles at you …fixes you food when you get home. He seems like he cares about you alot."

"After what happened to Mother and Father, Older Brother raised me." Sasuke was devoid of his former anger and heat. "I was just six, and he was fourteen." He paused, then went on. "Older Brother…doesn't see things the way that I do. He's against the idea of revenge."

"You mean…he doesn't want to find that someone and kill him like you? But why?"

"Older Brother told me that losing Mother and Father and the others made him realize he didn't want to be a shinobi - and never had. He's afraid that if I go after my revenge…I'll die, too." Sasuke's hands formed fists. "But I'm not like him. I tried hard to be, but if there's even a chance that the scum who did this to me, to Older Brother, to our clan is still alive, I can't just hide my true feelings behind a smile and let it go!"

After several long moments, Naruto spoke again. "So what if you really did die?" Though he was doing his best not to sound as though he were judging or criticizing, thoughts of the many years he'd spent in loneliness, the image of Itachi's smile and the warmth of his gentle hand on his head - so like Iruka-sensei's - were making it difficult. "What would big brother Itachi do if he lost you, the only family he has left? I know what it's like to spend your life hurting and hiding the hurt behind a smile. What would he do with his hurt if you died fighting that scum, whoever or whatever it is? If it was still alive, would you want big brother Itachi to risk his life trying to avenge you?"

These words hit home for Sasuke, who wavered before flaring up. He whipped around to face Naruto. "I don't have any intention of dying and leaving my brother alone! But how would it be better for us to spend our whole lives weak and hiding in fear, putting our pathetic lives on the line to defend people we don't even know just to make a living while we wait to see whether my parents' murderer will show up again one day to finish the job? That's what Older Brother thinks we should do. He thinks we should leave it to the government to deal with the murderer. It's been years, and noone's even found out what it is or where it is!"

"I'm sure Lord Third's been doing his best!" Naruto found himself speaking more harshly than he meant to. "You act like noone in the world cares about what happened to your family - about you. You've got a brother who's stayed by your side, who just doesn't want to lose you! What's wrong with thinking about someone besides yourself?"

Sasuke aimed a finger at Naruto. "That's rich coming from you! This has nothing to do with you, Naruto. You've got no right to make my problems all about your pain just because you've had to be alone!"

This caused Naruto to stop in his tracks.

Is that what I'm doing? Making Sasuke's problems all about me…going off at him about something I don't know anything about? Unable to go on meeting Sasuke's eyes, he stared at the bedsheets instead.

"I know I'm just a big, loudmouthed idiot who doesn't know anything. But I…just wanted to help…because you're my …I thought we were…sort of…"

He trailed off. I thought we were friends. Ugh, where'd I get the idea he'd even want to be friends with me? Even if we did pass the teamwork test, he's still cool and smart and strong, and I'm just a nobody who's always messing things up by pulling stunts or just opening my big stupid mouth…like I did just now.

"I'm going to get groceries for Older Brother." Sasuke's gruff voice broke the silence, startling Naruto. "You want to come?"

"… Huh?" Does he…not hate me?

Sasuke stood. "I said I'm going on a grocery run. Older Brother will want you two to stay for dinner. Are you coming, or are you just going to sit around here all day?"

In an instant, Naruto was on his feet. "Are you kidding? There's no way I'm missing out on more of big brother Itachi's cooking!"

One corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted. "Come on, then, slowpoke. Let's go!"


	12. Chapter 12

Sitsuke Ragama was a young shinobi, fifteen years old, short for his age and scrawny of build, with straight, jaw-length brown hair and brown eyes. He was the last known remaining member of the Sitsuke clan, a small clan whose numbers, as a result of warfare, had dwindled steadily between the days of the Sage of Six Paths and the day that the Leaf Village had been founded.

As was the case with all of the families that were known today as shinobi clans, the members of the Sitsuke clan had absorbed non-creation-type chakra in order to save humanity from destruction. The clan had not been a large one, and the chakra had been highly-concentrated within its members. The chakra type of the Sitsuke clan was ethereal. Specifically, they could acquire jutsu that gave them the power of flight or the ability to lift or move people and items of various sizes and weights. The acquisition of these powers, however, and the ability to buoy up or transport very heavy objects, for instance, required skill and hard work.

Ragama, an orphan, had practically raised himself, as many children of fallen shinobi and parentless children were expected to. He had managed to graduate from the Academy at the age of thirteen - a year late by Academy standards. Though he was in possession of a large amount of chakra, Ragama's chakra control had always been below average, and he had never been a very good student. Still, not long ago, he had finally learned to fly, albeit at low heights, and could lift and move small objects. He intended to put these abilities to good use.

That wasn't all, however. On this day, Ragama would become a powerful, well-respected shinobi. Never again would he be a social outsider, teased for his lack of talent, shunned and rejected in favor of the geniuses and prodigies. Already, just moments before, he had taken the first step on the road to glory and power: stealing the keys to the Forbidden Jutsu.

Every Leaf Academy kindergartener knew of the Forbidden Jutsu - the Creation Jutsu, also known as the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. While the ordinary clone jutsu only involved the creation of illusionary clones for the purpose of deception and the ordinary Shadow Clone also allowed for the creation of one or two Shadow clones at a time, the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu was intended to bring about the creation of many clones. The Shadow Clone Jutsu, unlike the ordinary Illusionary Clone jutsu, wasn't an illusionary technique. It produced autonomous copies of the user and drew on his or her chakra to give the doppelgangers life. It was rumored that any being who possessed the power to access and manipulate creation chakra might be able to go so far as to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu to create real living things. For ordinary ninja, though, because the Shadow Clone Jutsu was so costly chakra-wise, the successful or attempted overproduction of Shadow Clones would be dangerous, even deadly.

While mulling over his mediocrity as a ninja, Ragama had come to a realization: because his chakra reserves were so large, perhaps HE could safely create multiple shadow clones. Then, maybe - just maybe - by making use of these shadow clones in his training, he could speed up the improvement of his performance in the area of ninjutsu. He would borrow the scroll just long enough to teach himself the hand-signs, then return it. So today, using his ethereal techniques, he'd succeeded in getting hold of the Forbidden Scroll.

Now well out of view of the Hokage Residence, Ragama made a beeline for the nearest strip of forest. He sprinted along, rejoicing, hugging his loot to himself.

"People call me dumb, and I admit I'm a slow learner. But even I can memorize some hand-signs in a few minutes. I bet I can get this scroll back before old Lord Third even realizes it's gone. Heh, if I can use my powers to pull off a theft like this at my level, think how strong I'll be when I've trained with this new jutsu. All the people who said I was stupid and clumsy and would never amount to anything - the looks they'll have on their faces when they see how powerful I really am and don't have a clue how it happened!"

In order to have the best chance of reaching the safety of the foliage without being seen, Ragama cut across a dirt road, an alley that ran between the back end of a grocery market (one that was known for its inexpensive meats and produce) and the tall front gate of a complex of old, poorly-maintained apartment buildings where many of the market's best customers resided. It was as he was taking that route, however, that his good luck seemed to sour. The souring came in the form of Seikako Ajisai, a woman who just had to have been making her way down the alley, laden with grocery bags and doing her best to keep her brat of a toddler from running off, as Ragama passed. The sight of him made her drop her groceries.

"Sitsuke Ragama! Just what in the world are you doing with that big scroll?"

Ragama gritted his teeth. He hated Ajisai just as much as she loathed him. Shrill, nagging trash who, despite her pathetic station in life, somehow found time enough to glare or shout at him, accusing him of plotting mischief, whenever he had the misfortune of encountering her. He took to the air, rising several feet above the ground. Though he wasn't yet skilled enough at air-walking or flying to move with as much speed as he could on the ground, at least that bitch wouldn't be able to follow him while he was airborne. He hurried along, clutching the scroll even more tightly.

"That scroll - isn't that the - SITSUKE RAGAMA! Someone help! Come fast! Sitsuke Ragama's stealing the Forbidden Scroll!"

Sitsuke cursed to himself. How the hell did a civilian woman even know about the existence of the Forbidden Scroll? The slapping of shoes against earth alerted him to the fact that Ajisai was attempting to pursue him. Stupid, crazy bitch! Didn't she realize that she couldn't fly?

"Stop, thief! HELP! Someone help!"

Even if she couldn't overtake him, noone must know that Ragama had stolen the Forbidden Scroll. He couldn't take the deed back; not even the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu would save him from punishment if the Hokage learned of his actions. Ajisai had to be shut up before she alerted other people with her screaming. Ragama returned to earth, set the scroll aside to free his hands and, turning, made a running dive for Ajisai, whose eyes went wide.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to become Hokage," Ragama snarled, "and no matter how much you hate me, you're not going to ruin my chances!"

Ajisai clung to her bewildered son. Her voice was unsteady. "A worthless, troublemaking thief like you has no chance of becoming Hokage!"

Those were the last words that she spoke before, with one hard punch to the head, she was rendered unconscious. As she hit the ground and her little boy began to bawl, Ragama, with some regret, struck him, as well. He retrieved the scroll and made a break for the forest once again, leaving Ajisai and her son lying there together.

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When Ajisai regained consciousness, she opened her eyes to find three little faces above her. Though her vision was blurred, she could make out a head of blond hair and a pale, dark-eyed face. She did not, however, see her son. Immediately she pushed herself upright. A moment later, her head punished her with a spearhead of pain.

"Ma'am, it's ok; please relax!" She felt gentle hands on her shoulders, trying to coax her to lie back. "Your little boy's right here. You've been hurt, so don't move too much."

"Mama!" Tiny arms encircled her neck from behind. "I wan'!"

In spite of Miraku's warning, Ajisai twisted around to take her baby into her arms. "Konohamaru!"

Miraku, supporting the lady with her own body, shared worried looks with Naruto and Sasuke, who crouched before her. They'd been on their way back home when the sounds of a woman's screaming and a child's crying had captured their attention. Abandoning their groceries, they'd searched until they'd found the unconscious figures.

Naruto offered the woman a canteen of water. "Lady, what happened? Who did this to you?"

Konohamaru wiped his wet eyes. "He hit my mom and be mean to my mom."

For a moment or two, Ajisai said nothing. She laid her cheek in her child's hair and rocked him slowly. At length, though, she lifted her gaze and scanned the young faces before her.

"You're shinobi. . . aren't you?" She bowed her head. "Thanks for what you did, but don't worry about me anymore. You have bigger problems on your hands."

"Ma'am, don't try to act heroic," Sasuke scolded. "Tell us what happened and let us take you and your kid to a healer."

"I can find a healer on my own, child. It's - it's the Forbidden Scroll. Sitsuke Ragama made off with it."

The Forbidden Scroll! All three little faces registered horror.

"The Forbidden Scroll." Naruto's eyes blazed. "I don't know who the hell Sitsuke Ragama is, but he won't get away with this. What does he look like?"

"A teenaged boy, older than you three, with brown hair and brown eyes. Before he came back to knock me out, he went in the direction of the forest." Ajisai spoke slowly; a sort of weariness seemed to weigh her down. "Konohamaru and I don't need anymore help. You shinobi, no matter what you do, just. . . don't let a person like him become Hokage."

xxxxxxXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

Leaving Miraku to help Ajisai into her apartment, Sasuke and Naruto took off into the forest, heading in the direction that Ajisai had indicated. They boys flew from treetop to treetop. All the while, Naruto's mind raced.

"Don't let a person like that become Hokage"! What the hell was Mrs. Ajisai talking about? A person who'd attack a lady and a little kid, who'd steal the Forbidden Scroll - how could anyone like that ever become Hokage?

Naruto could hear the pounding of his own heart. The Forbidden Jutsu. It's supposed to be really strong; not even a Hokage can use it. So who the hell does this guy, this Sitsuke Ragama, think he is? He can't have the ability to use it; it's impossible! A guy like that will never be Hokage!

Sasuke was the first to spy a shadow darting between trees that were opposite him and Naruto, traveling in the same general direction as they were. Whipping out a string of shuriken, he launched a volley of them in the direction of the shadow. This alerted Naruto, who followed Sasuke's missiles up with two or three kunai. The kunai buried themselves tip-first into the nearest tree branches. Not for nothing was Sasuke regarded as one of the most talented genin in his class, however; thanks to Itachi's coaching, his skill at aiming and throwing shuriken - even several shuriken at once - was unmatched among his peers. Though the runaway shadow attempted to outstrip shuriken while remaining half-hidden by the foliage, Sasuke's shuriken sliced away one or two of the nearby branches, removing some of his protection, and the sound of fabric being cleanly shorn as if with sewing scissors was heard. Naruto caught a glimpse of a leaf-green jacket, then of a pair of feet.

"He's not jumping between the trees. That guy can't be - he's - flying!"

"An ethereal chakra-user," Sasuke observed grimly. "He has to be one. But if he's the guy who stole the scroll, he's not going to get away with it!"

"You're damn right he's not!" Naruto produced, lit and fired a paper bomb. Over the sound of the explosion, he made himself known.

"Hey, you! We know what you did, so you might as well quit running! You're not going to get your hands on the Forbidden Jutsu. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I hate bullying scumbags like you. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I'm the one who's going to be Hokage!"

Much to the surprise of the two boys, these words seemed to cause the shadow to halt. As its owner leapt into view, alighting upon a tree branch, Sasuke and Naruto, too, made their landing upon a thick, sturdy bough to steady themselves and prepared to dodge and counter an attack.

The young man who stood opposite of them fit Ajisai's description of her attacker, and in his arms was a massive ivory-white scroll that could only be that of the Forbidden Jutsu. Though he appraised his small apprehenders as one would an opponent, he seemed to have deemed it wisest not to attempt to fight or flee any farther.

"Uchiha Sasuke…and … Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke assumed the Fireball Jutsu stance. "Spare us all the talk and just give us the scroll."

Ragama's gaze slid from Sasuke's face to that of Naruto. "Why are little kids like you chasing me down? How did you even find out about what I did?"

"We found out from the lady and the little kid you beat and left unconscious!" Naruto shouted. "What the hell did you do that for, you bastard? Not only did you steal the Forbidden Scroll, you had to attack a helpless mom and her kid! Why don't you get over here and fight us like a real ninja - or are you too much of a coward?"

Ragama held his gaze. "I need this jutsu! I just want to borrow it, and then I'm going to take it back. So why don't you two just keep your mouths shut and let me wrap this up before anyone besides that Ajisai shrew and you finds out it was ever missing? Then everything will be fine."

"When hell freezes over!" Sasuke scoffed. "You want us to try to cover for a thief and a common thug?"

Naruto trembled with passion. He roared, "Are you insane? You lowlife idiot! Why in the world would we try to help you? Even if we wanted to, Lord Third would still find out about what you did from Mrs. Ajisai! You've got no right to steal the Creation Jutsu, and I won't let you get your hands on it. One way or another, you're going to pay for this, Sitsuke Ragama!"

Ragama gave him a smile - a thin, hateful, humorless smile. Naruto realized, He's looking at me almost - almost like I'm the only one he sees. It's like Sasuke isn't here! What is this guy's problem?

"Is that what you want, Uzumaki Naruto? You want me to PAY for what I did? You know what the penalty is for stealing the Forbidden Scroll. You want to see me rot in prison for a while? Want to see me hang? See me suffer and die over a piece of paper and an act I couldn't take back even if I wanted to?"

These words took Naruto aback, caused him to waver.

"Lord Hokage wouldn't take a bitchy civilian's word over mine. If you would stop trying to play the hero and let me use the scroll and take it back like I planned to in the first place, noone else would get hurt."

Naruto's anger overcame his feelings of doubt. "Shut up! You're trying to get us on your side, but all you're doing is making me madder and madder!"

His arms quivered at his sides. "I've never been a good kid. People say I'm lazy and a troublemaker, and I pull stupid pranks sometimes. But I'll never forgive someone who talks about being Hokage and then disgraces the title of Hokage! It's your own fault you broke the law and picked on a couple of civilians like a punk. You aren't even sorry for what you did. So don't try to turn it back on me!"

"So I deserve to die for not being sorry for what I did? If that's what you think - if you of all people, you, Uzumaki Naruto, the troublemaker, the reject, the dead-last, the loser, would be so small and petty, would sink that low …then you're just like THEM."

Sasuke cut in. "Naruto, don't listen to this guy. He's only playing games with you."

Naruto, however, scarcely registered his words. The confusion and uncertainty had returned. Troublemaker…reject…dead-last…loser…these were the words that echoed through his mind. His fists unclenched.

"Just like THEM. Who …what are you talking about? How do you know so much about me when I don't even know you?"

Ragama dropped to the forest floor. "Everyone in the village knows about you. As for me, I was just like you - a loser noone cared about - but I wasn't in your class, so you wouldn't have known me. Come down here with me, and I'll tell you all about it."

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm. "Naruto! Be careful with this guy!"

Ragama set the scroll down. He spread his hands. "What are you afraid of? You still have the upper hand. Even if I were strong enough to fight you both, I couldn't do anything to make you keep quiet; it's not like noone would notice or look into it if you went missing - especially you, Uchiha Itachi's precious little brother." Sasuke, who hadn't been directly addressed from the moment of their introduction until now, flinched. "Besides, just like you, I'm a loyal shinobi of the Leaf - and a guy who wants to become Hokage. So who would it hurt if you came down here and listened to what I had to say?"

Sasuke's teeth clenched. "This guy…!"

"It's ok, Sasuke." Naruto pried himself free of Sasuke's grip. "It's like he said; he can't do anything to us. I just want to know what he's talking about."

Before another word could be uttered, Naruto was on the ground, face-to-face with Ragama. Though this decision didn't please Sasuke, he joined him on the ground, prepared to fight if necessary.

Ragama began his tale. "I'm Sitsuke Ragama, the only member of my clan left in the Leaf. Never knew my parents; they died when I was a baby. I don't remember who took care of me until I could walk. As soon as I was old enough to get around by myself, I was left alone."

Just like me, Naruto thought.

"My mom and dad couldn't have been anything special when it came to being ninja. Nobody ever cared enough to talk about them. And me - I've always been just a loser. They say it's because I'm a Sitsuke that I'm brimming with chakra. But I suck at controlling it, so it's never been any good to me."

Full of chakra…but can't control it. It's like this guy's reading my life story.

"The only thing the Sitsuke name was known for was for its joke of a sole survivor, a guy who couldn't even perform one basic ethereal jutsu until he was a teenager. My classmates laughed at me - that is, when they weren't ignoring me. It was my classmate, Hyuuga Neji - the cool guy, the prodigy who was a grade ahead of the other students his age - that everyone loved."

Hyuuga Neji. This guy…was his classmate?

"Everyone wanted to be like Neji, even though he was a stuck-up bastard who hated everyone and everything. The girls were all over Neji, even though he couldn't have given a crap about any of them. But me - I couldn't even get one friend. I was lucky enough to get stuck with Ebisu as an Academy sensei. He hated my guts, and I hated his. To get back at him, to try to get someone to notice me, I pulled pranks and caused trouble. Any attention was better than no attention."

Naruto interjected. "What's all of this got to do with you attacking Mrs. Ajisai and stealing the Forbidden Scroll? You …you're lucky enough to have a chakra nature that plenty of other people in the village have. Uzumaki Karin can sense chakra and heal, but she didn't have to learn to do that stuff at the Academy. I can't do anything with my chakra - can't even make a clone right. If you wanted to get strong so bad, why couldn't you have asked someone like Nara Shikadai-san to help you?"

Ragama flared up. "So it's my fault, is it? My fault that I didn't beg someone who thought I was nothing but a dumb loser to give me a little training, my fault that noone gave enough of a damn about me to find me the right teacher! Let me tell you something about the Creation Jutsu. My team sensei told me that if you train with a Shadow Clone, you can speed up your progress. Just imagine what I could do with more than two Shadow Clones. I'd get back the three years I lost being a loser and then some. All of this useless chakra would finally be of some good to me. Then I'd make all of the people who thought I was just a worthless troublemaker eat their words. Especially people like that Ajisai shrew. You think I knocked her out for no reason? She's always had it out for me. She was the one who tried to get in my way when she caught me with the scroll!"

"All I hear is a bunch of excuses." Naruto's voice was husky. "I never paid as much attention in class as I should have. But I remember this rule - a shinobi always protects the people of his village. Just because you decided to steal the Forbidden Scroll doesn't make it ok for you to break that rule. All this talk about getting back the three years you lost and making people eat their words - you're just taking the easy way out, trying to get strong fast so you can show off." His voice rose. "How do you expect to climb your way to being Hokage on a pile of lies?"

"Telling ONE lie doesn't make you a liar. I don't know about you, Uzumaki Naruto, but this loser doesn't expect to become Hokage just by trying the same crap that's never worked over and over again!"

During the silence that followed, Naruto's eyes were downcast. The war raging inside of him was tearing him apart.


	13. Chapter 13

"I want to believe your story." Naruto, with gaze still downcast, broke the silence. "You keep saying my name again and again. The way you talk about it, your life's been like mine, and you know that. Back in the day …maybe we could've been friends. But even though you knew about me, I didn't know anything about you till today. So why now? If you knew what I was going through - knew we were the same - why didn't you ever reach out to me before?"

To Naruto's question, Ragama offered no reply.

"If you really are the type of guy who wants to be Hokage, then we'll try to help you. We won't tell anyone about what you did."

"Naruto!"

Naruto ignored Sasuke's scandalized cry. "But only if you give up on stealing the Forbidden Jutsu. Take it back before anyone realizes it's gone and apologize to Mrs. Ajisai, and we'll be on your side."

Ragama seemed to realize that he wasn't swaying Naruto. He snarled, "I'm not giving up my chances of being Hokage!"

"You don't even know if you can use it! Even if you say you've got alot of chakra, the Jutsu's forbidden for a reason. All the Hokage've said it's not safe to use; you don't know better than the Hokage! What do you want to do, mess around and get yourself killed or something? What kind of a happy ending would that be? Just let it go, Ragama. There's no shortcut to being Hokage!"

Ragama moved. Naruto had no time to get an idea of what he was about to do. As quick as lightning, Sasuke dove for and grabbed the Forbidden Scroll.

"Oh, no, you don't!"

With the scroll tucked beneath his arm, he took to the nearest treetop. "Naruto, let's go! There's no point in talking to him."

Naruto lingered there, hesitating. It was only when Ragama rose into the air and went after Sasuke that he flew into action. Ragama reared back to punch Sasuke and knock him off-balance. In the nick of time, Sasuke produced a clone, with which he exchanged places, and, as Ragama's fist found itself plunging into a cloud of smoke, leapt over to the nearest branch of a neighboring tree. Naruto attacked Ragama from behind, jumping up to deliver a dropkick.

"Stop it, Ragama! Keep your hands off my teammate!"

Before foot could meet skull, Ragama caught Naruto by the leg. He gave him a swing, then threw him with all of his strength. Naruto flailed, attempting to right himself, but found himself sailing headfirst towards the trunk of a tree. He braced himself for the sickening impact.

There was the sound of a thud beneath him. An instant later, the back of Naruto's head made contact not with wood, but with a human chest. Its owner skidded backwards before he managed to find his footing.

Naruto pulled away and turned to face his rescuer. "Sasuke!"

It was indeed Sasuke, but the scroll was nowhere in sight. "The Forbidden Scroll! What'd you do with it?"

"I couldn't carry it and catch you at the same time, so I dropped it."

"WHY?" Naruto wailed. "I could've taken the hit; I have a hard head! Why'd you have to go and drop the scroll?"

"Why did you have to be enough of an idiot to try to fight that guy instead of running?" Sasuke shot back. "Stop complaining so we can focus on trying to get it back!"

By this time, Ragama had retrieved the scroll. As the boys rushed him, he unfurled it.

"I'm finished playing cat-and-mouse. If you want this scroll back so badly …"

His hands moved in a blur.

"…then come on and fight me for it."

Naruto and Sasuke came to a halt a few feet away from Ragama. They could only watch as one, then two, then twenty Ragama clones materialized, all standing side-by-side in a semicircle.

Naruto found his voice. "Ragama! Stop it! This is stupid; just cut it out!"

Upon the face of each copy of Ragama appeared the hateful grin of earlier. There was no hint of apprehension or even defiance in his expression.

His eyes…there's something about the look in them I don't like. There's - a heat in them…a fire. It's like he's going crazy!

"Why?" Ragama began to advance on his two small opponents, and his clones followed suit. "Why would you side with a stuck-up, rich, spoiled little Uchiha pretty-boy bitch - with the villagers who hate us both?"

Naruto backed away. "What the hell are you talking about? I fought you because the Leaf's my village and Sasuke's my teammate! What's wrong with you? Get a grip. Snap out of it, Ragama!"

"I know what you're about." Ragama continued to advance on him. "You think by sucking up to the cool guys and the people who hate you, you can make them respect you? You're a fool. The little Uchiha prince might not know what you are. But I do. You're not just Uzumaki Naruto the troublemaker, Naruto the loser, the dead-last, the reject. You're the Ninetails' jinchuuriki!"

The words found their mark. Beside Naruto, Sasuke muttered, "What? Naruto…you're…?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but no words were forthcoming. Ragama swung for him. He attempted to dodge, but was set upon by a clone. No matter where he turned, clones blocked his path, grinning at him, taunting him. His first attempt to fight back earned him a hefty punch to the jaw. Two more hard blows, and Naruto went down with star-filled vision and a mouth full of blood.

"Pathetic fool," came the voice from overhead. "See where sucking up to people who hate you's gotten you."

Naruto attempted to get to his feet, but a forceful kick from Ragama sent him sprawling. Blurred as his vision was, he could make out the sneering faces of him and his clones. Then those faces morphed, and it was as though he were seeing the faces of the men, women and children who had passed him day after day as, at five, six, seven years old, he'd sat alone on the park swing-set.

"Mama, can I have dango?"

"Not yet, dear, not until you've finished your homework."

"Papa, pick me up! I want piggyback ride."

"Up you go - unh! You're getting to be a big girl. Soon you'll be carrying Papa around instead."

"Mom, who's that boy? He's always sitting…"

"Don't stare at him, dear; look away! That boy is the one I've warned you about, the Ninetails' jinchuuriki!"

"He's rotten, dangerous and a troublemaker to boot. Stay away from him, do you hear me?"

Naruto's vision began to blur for an entirely different reason. Lord Third…always said I should never tell anyone about me being a jinchuuriki. There are grownups who knew, but none of my classmates…ever knew…till now. I thought if I kept quiet about it and tried to prove I wasn't some monster, I'd have a shot at making friends…at not being all alone anymore.

"Are you just going to sit there looking like a kicked dog?" Ragama's voice was thick with disdain. "Is that your way of trying to be Hokage? Why don't you use your famed Ninetails' power to fight me? Mr. Uchiha here already knows what the villagers know now - that you're a monster and a freak."

An instant later, Naruto found himself looking at the Uchiha crest on the back of Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke, standing between him and Ragama now, unleashed a Fireball Jutsu attack. Though Ragama dropped to the ground in time to avoid taking the brunt of the attack, Naruto heard a pained, angry hiss.

"You," he seethed. "You milk-faced little Uchiha bitch. Think you're smart, don't you?"

"I'm smarter than you." Sasuke's voice was quiet, but clear. "Because I can see the truth. You can say anything you want about the Ninetails. You can call it a monster, a demon, a freak. But I know who Naruto is. Naruto's not the Ninetails. Uzumaki Naruto is a ninja of the Leaf, my classmate, my teammate."

Naruto was speechless. His tears began to flow faster.

"The only monster standing here, ugly-mug," Sasuke went on, "is YOU. So come on if you want a fight so badly. Come pick on someone who stands half a chance of fighting back." Naruto could hear the smirk in his voice. "That is, unless you're too afraid, Ragama-chan."

Ragama was on his feet. "You little faggot. I'm going to slaughter you like that mysterious killer slaughtered your mom and dad!"

"Try it. I'll send you to the same place I'm going to send him: Hell!"

Sasuke. As Ragama was preoccupied, Naruto mustered his strength and clambered to his feet. Though he saw Sasuke produce a clone, then spring for the protective height of the nearest treetop, Ragama and his army of clones all rose into the air, employing his ethereal technique, and surrounded him. Sasuke strove to fend them off with punches, kicks and Fireballs, but it was clear that the clones were beating him faster than he could dispel them. He vanished from Naruto's view behind the clone crowd.

At length, the clones did all disappear. When the dust settled, Ragama was standing upon the bough. Dangling from his grip by one leg was a bruised, battered, exhausted Sasuke.

"Now, you little faggot, I'm going to throw you as far as I can and kill you the same way I failed to kill your friend earlier."

"Get your hands off of him."

The sound of Naruto's voice caused Ragama to turn his head. "You again? You mean to tell me you haven't learned your lesson yet?"

Naruto was standing on the ground behind him. His voice sounded strange to his own ears. "Get down here and let Sasuke go. If you lay another finger on my teammate, I'll make you regret it!"

Ragama laughed. "Big words coming from a little punk. Just what are you going to do if I lay another finger on your so-called teammate?"

In his mind, Naruto repeated to himself the hand-sign sequence he'd read just a moment before. His hands moved, and, in an instant, he was surrounded by Naruto-clones. There were far more than twenty, more than forty, even - far too many to count.

Naruto spoke, and his minions spoke in unison with him. "Ready to see what a little punk can do?"

Ragama's staring eyes had doubled in size. He released Sasuke and took to the air. Naruto was too quick for him, however. One shadow clone flew forward to break Sasuke's fall. The others surrounded Ragama, charging at him from every direction. They propelled themselves from tree branches, and what they lacked in power of flight, they made up for by leaping into the air and launching themselves off of the shoulders of their comrades.

"You can fly around all you want to, but it won't save you!"

Ragama, who could fly but so high, did not stand a chance.


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto could recall delivering one final blow to Ragama before succumbing to his exhaustion and slipping into a state that was somewhere in the grey area between awareness and unconsciousness. He knew that he was lying on the ground now, and he felt a sense of pleasant, satisfied tiredness. He thought, Sasuke's okay…scroll's ok…I beat Ragama. In the background of his mind, though, was a vague feeling of worry, one that whispered, I did something bad.

The sound of Iruka's voice brought him back to earth. "Naruto!"

Naruto opened his eyes. The gentle face of his beloved sensei was above him, and his arms were beneath him, supporting him.

"Iruka-sensei…"

Iruka drew him closer, and he felt the comforting, familiar coolness and coarseness of his vest fabric against his cheek. "Naruto, thank Kami-sama! Sasuke told us some of what happened, but he passed out mid-sentence. What happened? Are you ok?"

"Nothing hurts, sensei." Naruto's voice was hoarse. "Just …tired. Sasuke…where…?"

"Itachi-san has Sasuke. You don't need to worry."

"Sensei…Sitsuke Ragama…he knocked out a lady…took the Forbidden Scroll. Sasuke and I…just wanted to stop him from stealing the jutsu. Instead…I ended up stealing it. I had to. He was going to kill Sasuke…!"

"That jutsu isn't what's important now. What's important is the fact you two are all right." Iruka's embrace tightened. "A couple of genin trying to go up against an older ninja over the Forbidden Scroll by yourselves. You reckless little fools!"

Naruto allowed himself to relax against Iruka's chest. His arms encircled his neck. For once in my life, I don't even mind getting told off by Iruka-sensei.

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The boys were carried to Sasuke's house, where, after being tended to by a healer, they were given hot baths, then tucked into Sasuke's bed together. They were visited by Kakashi and Miraku.

Kakashi sat at the head of the bed. He gave the small heads a gentle rub apiece.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto murmured.

"Hey there, kit." Kakashi inhaled deeply, then released the sigh through his nostrils. "I know you aren't the brightest bulb in the box, but I didn't expect even you to pull a stunt as moronic as the one you pulled today. That goes doubly for you, Sasuke."

Sasuke was busily feigning slumber.

"You don't understand, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto muttered. "I couldn't let a jerk like that try to cheat his way to becoming Hokage."

"You and your 'Hokage' obsession. Naruto, a good candidate for the title of Hokage has two things you sorely lack - common sense and a sense of discipline." Naruto deflated. "Sasuke, you might as well stop pretending to be asleep and take your share of the lecture, too. You two were gone far longer than you should have been. You made Itachi worry about you. He came looking for you."

Sasuke said nothing, but Naruto knew that he was listening. For his part, he mumbled, "We'll tell big brother Itachi we're sorry."

"For now, get some rest. Itachi had to go to the market before it closed. He says you three went for groceries earlier, but they've probably spoiled sitting out in the sun, and he has to make you something to eat."

This elicited a guilty squirm from Sasuke.

Naruto sat up. "Kakashi-sensei? …I know I was the one who beat up Ragama, but even I don't remember everything that happened. I just remember using the Creation Jutsu…and then being really tired afterwards." He hesitated. "And I had this funny feeling - sort of - relaxed and happy…even though by using the Forbidden Jutsu, I was doing the exact same thing Ragama did."

For a moment, Kakashi was silent. He turned to regard the nearest wall. Naruto saw signs of pensiveness or worry in his eyes.

"Naruto, it was reckless of you two to go after Ragama, but you only used the jutsu to protect and defend your friend. Though Ragama took a bad beating, Iruka-sensei says that he still detected a heartbeat." He paused. "To safely use the Creation Jutsu, you must have channeled some of the Ninetails' chakra. Itachi says that when he came searching for you, he encountered your clones - a very, very large number of them. You might have been half-conscious, but your clones were still at large. Furthermore, Itachi couldn't dispel them by hitting them the way that Shadow Clones are usually dispelled."

Naruto's eyes were wide. "You mean…my clones wouldn't go away? What happened to them?"

"You don't need to worry. Itachi was able to return their chakra to your body in a different way. We'll talk about that later. But if you resort to the Forbidden Jutsu ever again, what I just told you about will happen again. For you, Naruto, because you house an enormous mass of creation chakra, the use of the Shadow Clone Jutsu isn't the same as it is for others. It's called the Creation Jutsu for a reason. It seems that the tales of the Creation Jutsu's power to create living things using creation chakra weren't just stories."

Now Sasuke rolled over to face Kakashi. "Wait a minute. You're saying that Naruto can take the chakra of the Ninetails and use it to make the souls of fifty different people who all look like him?"

Naruto struggled to register what he'd been told. "And big brother Itachi…sealed all of those souls…all of those clones in my body?" He found himself placing a hand over his heart, noting the way that it pulsed with every beat, the way his chest rose and fell with every breath. "All of them? Are they…still in that form - fifty souls?"

"I don't know, kit. It may be that only a powerful sensory ninja could answer that question. By channeling the Ninetails' chakra and making use of the Creation Jutsu at once, you took a double risk. As for your inability to remember what happened and that feeling that you got in the wake of the use of the jutsu, it could be that the Ninetails influenced you by making you feel more aggressive than usual, to say the least, or that the Creation Jutsu made you get a sort of emotional payoff from fighting Ragama with it. Maybe it was a little of both." Naruto flinched. "You can't be blamed for the way that you felt. But until you've received extensive, specialized training, I can't approve of your channeling the Ninetails' chakra like that again. I want you to forget the hand-signs to the Creation Jutsu, too. It's far too dangerous to use."

"I will, sensei." Naruto's voice was small.

Kakashi's eyes smiled. "Then there's no need for any of us to worry. You'll be fine." He rose. "We'd better leave and let Naruto and Sasuke rest up for now, Miraku."

xxxxxxXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

It was nighttime, and the full moon came drifting out from behind a silver cloud to show its face. Far above the Leaf Village, even above the moon, Ryoka Junsuna sat upon his throne. In his hands was his crystal ball, which he used to observe the goings-on on Earth. By rotating that ball, he could turn the invisible eye within it to any part of the round earth that he pleased, and when he clasped it, cradled it with both hands, it began to glow, and the eye honed in on the subject of his curiosity. Tonight, the subjects of his curiosity were Sitsuke Ragama and his small vanquisher, Uzumaki Naruto.

"Sitsuke Ragama," Junsuna murmured. "Uzumaki Naruto. Both of these children have the potential to be powerful agents of change. Both talentless ninja who desperately crave the love and acknowledgement of others. Of course, they both come with liabilities that are specific to them. Uzumaki Naruto's body is the vessel of a large amount of the chakra that I lost and wish to reclaim. If the Ninetails is extracted, he will die. A living Ninetails' jinchuuriki whose heart followed the right path could prove to be far more beneficial than the reclamation of the chakra alone. With that being said, there are things about him that worry me. Where Ragama is concerned, nothing concerns me but his lack of raw power when compared to a jinchuuriki. That could prove a disadvantage, and yet - for a person who had the acknowledgement and adoration of the world in which he was born, but never desired that world, a ninja who is the opposite, who longs for that love and acknowledgement, but does not have it may be a powerful ally. It is those who neither have nor care for the love and acknowledgement of the people - those people can never rise to the challenge of fulfilling my one and only mission. So with my eyes on both of these children, I will take action in as far as I am able, then see what the future holds."


	15. Chapter 15

The members of Team Seven spent the night at Sasuke's house, where, after a hot meal, the exhausted children slept soundly. They were still sleeping late that next morning when Itachi welcomed Hiruzen into their home. Sasuke was the first to wake, roused by the murmuring of a voice that did not belong to his brother or to any of his teammates. Sitting up, he woke Naruto with a prod in the ribs.

"NARUTO!"

"Arrrggghhhh," Naruto moaned, having been torn away from a heavenly dream about unlimited ramen and the Hokage hat. "What do you want, you jerk?"

"Get up and keep your voice down, stupid!" Sasuke hissed. "It's Lord Third. He's out there talking to Kakashi-sensei and Older Brother!"

"Lord Third!" This got Naruto to sit up and open his eyes. "What would he be doing here?"

The boys exchanged a look, then, without another word, quietly, to avoid disturbing Miraku, who lay sleeping on the nearby futon, slipped out of bed and made their way into the hall. The adults could be heard conversing, but spoke in tones so low that the children couldn't make out what they were saying, so they inched forward, Sasuke after Naruto, until they were just a few feet away from the doorway of the living room. They stood with their backs to the wall and did their best to keep their breathing silent.

"Sitsuke Ragama will recover from his injuries." This was from Hiruzen. "Though the penalty for wrongfully taking possession of the Forbidden Scroll is death, I feel that it would be better to make an exception in Ragama's situation."

"I mean no disrespect, Hokage-sama," came Itachi's soft voice. "But Sasuke and Naruto tell me that Ragama made attempts on their lives. He's also been accused of assaulting a mother and her child. Isn't there any -"

"Itachi, you are a good boy and a splendid shinobi. You have always served our village well. I trust that even though it was your younger brother that Ragama harmed, you are open-minded enough to understand my reasoning. I believe that behind Ragama's rough and immature attitude may lie a heart that can be cultivated in the way of the true Leaf shinobi. It was his frustration with his own weakness and his desperation to become Hokage that caused him to resort to theft. As for Sasuke and Naruto, they've admitted that Ragama was using the Creation Jutsu when he injured them. Perhaps the Creation Jutsu influenced him to make choices that he would not have made otherwise."

There was a moment or two of silence. Then: "Kakashi, you feel as Itachi does. You believe I'm being too lenient."

"I respect your judgement, Lord Third," Kakashi replied, as cool as a spring lake. "I have no desire to retaliate against Ragama-kun or to see him executed. What worries me is the matter of the Forbidden Jutsu. I've asked Naruto not to use that jutsu in the future. Are you sure that it's a good idea to allow or encourage him or Ragama-kun to continue using it, especially in light of Naruto's jinchuuriki status and what you mentioned a moment before about Ragama-kun's mental state?"

"In Naruto's case, training will be needed in order for him to improve his sense of control, but by utilizing the jutsu without being overtaken by the Ninetails, he has already proven himself worthy of some confidence. He must be taught some techniques if he's ever to be of any use as a ninja. With that being said, I leave Naruto up to your discretion; he is your student.

"Ragama is a different matter. He does not have the power of a Tailed Beast to contend with. What needs to be addressed is his heart."

"I see. Thank you, Lord Third. Will that be all?"

Naruto, unable to contain himself any longer, came barging in. Itachi snapped, "Naruto!" Hiruzen's eyebrows rose, but Kakashi appeared to have no outward reaction to Naruto's unexpected intrusion.

Naruto slammed his fists on the nearest tabletop. "Lord Third, you've got to be kidding! That guy - that Sitsuke Ragama - is a complete jerk! What he did to Ajisai-san - and her little kid - he wasn't even sorry! And he almost killed me even before he used the jutsu, then said he'd murder Sasuke in the same exact way! I - I won't forgive anyone who tries to kill my teammates - not ever. How could you try to help him become Hokage?"

Hiruzen folded his arms into the sleeves of his robe. "Naruto, every Leaf shinobi should aspire to become Hokage. The Hokage is the protector, the defender, the family member of every Leaf ninja who possesses the Will of Fire."

Naruto snarled, "That bastard doesn't deserve to possess a burning incense!"

"Naruto," Kakashi intervened. "Before you get riled up, remember whose foolish idea it was to engage Ragama."

"What the hell were we supposed to do, Kakashi-sensei?" demanded Sasuke, who had come out to join Naruto. "Turn tail and run like scared rabbits while he made off with the Scroll and learned the Forbidden Jutsu?"

"You should have gotten a more experienced ninja to go after him," Itachi told him sternly. "If nothing else, after confronting him over the Scroll, you could have found an opportunity to escape instead of taking matters into your own hands and provoking a fight."

Sasuke flared up. "So now it's our fault that Ragama came after us?"

Naruto gripped the edge of the table. "I don't care whose fault it is. I'm glad I kicked his butt, and I'd do it again. I'd do it again a hundred times!"

"Kit, settle down," Kakashi admonished.

"Sasuke," Itachi protested, "I'm not blaming you and siding with Ragama. You know that. You're my little brother!"

Sasuke seethed. "Why don't you go ahead and buy him a bouquet and a get-well-soon card? Better yet, just force me to do it. You're trying to make me a snivelling coward, Older Brother, the way you always have!"

"Sasuke, you know that isn't true."

"It IS true! Stop talking to me like I'm a stupid little kid!"

Sasuke charged off and slammed out of the house, leaving Naruto behind to face his elders. "Lord Third, Kakashi-sensei's making me stop using the Creation Jutsu! How could you let a guy like Sitsuke Ragama keep using it? How's it fair for him to get off scot-free after everything he did? And after Ajisai-san told us never to let someone like him become Hokage!"

Hiruzen rose. "Naruto, what Sitsuke Ragama does from here on out doesn't concern you. Please don't repeat yesterday's mistake by trying to interfere. Focus on your own affairs." He turned to head for the door. "I'll be taking my leave. Kakashi, Itachi, I appreciate your understanding."

Naruto watched Hiruzen's departing back. Tears quivered at the rims of his eyes.

He felt Itachi's hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, I know that things might not seem fair to you. But Kakashi-sensei and Lord Third are -"

Naruto wrenched away. "I - I wish I'd killed that guy when I was using the Forbidden Jutsu!"

Kakashi half-rose. "Don't say things like that. Naruto!"

Naruto was already out of the door. As he ran, tears blurred his vision before they were whipped away by the pitying wind.

A worried Miraku, still in her nightgown, entered the living room just as the door slammed for the second time. "Sensei? Why is everyone yelling? What's going on?"

"Naruto and Sasuke got a little frustrated and went out to blow off some steam."

xxxxxxXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

By the time that he made his way to Team Seven's training field, Naruto's footsteps had slowed. With the back of his arm, he attempted to dam the flow of his tears. He made a greater effort to compose himself when he spied the silhouette of another person a few yards away from the nearest training post. He did his best to scrub his face dry with his sleeve. Upon drawing closer, wanting to take his feelings out on the unoccupied neighboring pole, he recognized Sasuke, who was hurling shuriken at a target that he'd put up on his training post. Unwilling to suffer the mortification of having Sasuke see that he'd been crying, Naruto wasted no time before turning to leave the scene.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" The sound of Sasuke's voice stopped him. The thudding of shuriken had ceased for the moment. "Do you want to get some training in or not?"

Naruto gulped. Aware of the fact that Sasuke had certainly noticed his state and grateful that he was pretending otherwise, after a long moment, he turned back around and made his way over to claim a training post for himself.

The boys attacked those poor poles in silence for a while. Sasuke's shuriken flew in an almost-unceasing hail, burying themselves point-first into the center of the target or, now and again, when he competed too recklessly with himself over the number of shuriken that he could fire at once, missing their mark and piercing the wood of the post instead, much to his frustration. He paused only to clear the target when there was no more room for shuriken on it. Beside him, Naruto assailed his post with kicks and punches.

Sasuke was the first to stop, panting, too exhausted to go on. He sat down on the ground, and, soon after, Naruto, sore and drained, joined him. When he'd caught his breath, Naruto broke the silence.

"I don't want to be like him. I never will." He felt the heat growing at the backs of his eyes again. "I'll never, ever be like that stupid, stealing, cheating bastard Ragama!"

Sasuke kicked a pebble. "Good. Why would you want to be like him, anyway?"

"Lord Third … acted like he didn't care. Maybe we were dumb to go after Ragama, but everything we went through …it didn't mean anything to him at all. A couple of reckless brats who did something stupid - that's all he saw. He didn't see how hard we tried…but he gave a jerk like Ragama what he wanted!"

"Adults are all the same. Fairness doesn't mean anything to them. All of their preaching about hard work and being rewarded for doing the right thing is just blather. Adults just hate for us to have minds and goals of our own. They like fools and delinquents like Ragama better because they think they can FIX them or manipulate them into doing whatever they want them to."

Sasuke's words were of some consolation to Naruto, and the little shinobi sat around together for a time, venting to eachother about the many faults and failings of the adult race. Naruto then happened to glance up and was startled by the presence of one of the members of that species.

"Ajisai-san!"

A smiling Ajisai stood there with little Konohamaru in her arms. "I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke, on his feet now, aimed an accusing finger at her. "How much does a little privacy cost around here? How long have you been standing there listening in on us, Ajisai-san?"

"Forgive me." Ajisai bowed her head. There was a bashfulness in her demeanor. "I - I was told I might find you here. I wanted to thank you two and Miraku-chan for your kindness to Konohamaru and me."

Both boys blushed. Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "You didn't have to come all the way here just to do that. Besides, it was like you said…I didn't want a guy like that to become Hokage."

"Really?"

"Yeah - because I …" Naruto trailed off.

I said that, but now - Ragama's got a forbidden jutsu up his sleeve, and I'm not even allowed to use the same jutsu. It was the first time I'd ever used a jutsu that was any good - the first time I'd ever won a fight. Outside of the Forbidden Jutsu, I'm just a no-talent weakling. How can I brag about being Hokage again?

"Well - it's because I wanted to be the one who got to be Hokage someday."

"Is that so?" Ajisai's eyes were strangely soft. For a moment, there was a faraway look in them. "Then do your best, Naruto-kun. That's a great goal - to be Hokage."

Naruto's face warmed. "You really think so, Ajisai-san?"

Konohamaru, dancing impatiently in Ajisai's arms, cut in. "Mama! I wan' Miraku-neechan!"

"Sweetie, don't pester," Ajisai reproved the little boy. "We'll see Miraku-neechan when she's ready."

"Miraku-neechan?" Sasuke was quizzical.

"Miraku-chan was a great help to me. I could tell she was worried about you two, but she insisted on staying with us. She put my groceries away for me, sent for a healer to be sure that we were all right, cooked dinner for us and played with Konohamaru. He's talked about nothing but Miraku-neechan since she left. When I came by to ask after you three, Itachi-san said that she was washing up. I really didn't mean to intrude on you children, but I wanted to express my gratitude."

"It's all right. She's probably up by now. Naruto and I were just about to go back, anyway. We didn't eat breakfast, and Older Brother will complain if you don't come back with us and stay for tea or something."

"Yas!" Konohamaru volunteered to answer for his mother. "We wan' tea."

"Konohamaru, don't butt in! … Actually, I hoped you young shinobi would accept an invitation to my house - if you weren't busy, that is. I can put something on for you to eat, and since you saved my groceries, maybe you'll stay for lunch and even dinner? I was thinking of making seafood and mushroom curry, frying a few meat turnovers, and baking a cake."

"Thanks, but we couldn't -" Sasuke began, but Naruto, whose mouth was watering, barged in. "We'll get Miraku-chan! Thanks, Ajisai-san!"

"You don't speak for me and Miraku, rude, greedy ass!" Sasuke scolded. "Don't you have any shame?"

Ajisai's eyes laughed. "Then it's settled. Shall we go and check in on Miraku-chan?"


	16. Chapter 16

In her small apartment, over a table laden with cakes and a pot of mint tea, Ajisai shared a story with the children that shocked them.

"Konohamaru's the Hokage's grandson?" A disbelieving Naruto stared at the little boy, who romped on the floor, laughing and attempting to escape Miraku's tickling fingers.

Ajisai, teapot in hand, reached across the table to refill Naruto's cup. "Konohamaru's father was Sarutobi Tanaka. He was a member of the ANBU Black Ops. We were talking of getting engaged not long before he died. Neither of us knew that I was carrying Konohamaru when I lost him."

There was a moment or two of awkward silence, which Naruto broke at length. "But what about Lord Third? Doesn't he know about his grandson? You should be living with him!"

"Naruto." Sasuke's tone added the words that he didn't say aloud: "Don't you know how to mind your own business?"

Ajisai reached down to stroke the head of her little one as he went hurtling past the legs of her chair. She spoke again after a lengthy pause.

"Tanaka. . .was no longer an ANBU shinobi when he died. Lord Third discharged him, and, from what I understood, they didn't have much of a relationship after the discharge."

"Discharged?" Naruto repeated. "You mean kicked out? But why?"

Ajisai shook her head. "I don't know. It wasn't within his rights to give out details about that kind of thing, even to me. I only remember that it happened after a mission. I knew him to be a good man - kind, generous and brave. But I think that as time went on, some aspects of the shinobi life became tougher on him than even he realized."

"So Lord Third. . .made Tanaka-san leave the ANBU Black Ops because he messed up on a mission," Naruto surmised. There was a moment of silence, during which he wrestled with his thoughts, and then surfaced the fieriness that was so characteristic of him. "But, Ajisai-san, no matter what he did, it isn't your fault, or Konohamaru's!"

Ajisai managed another smile, but the children all saw through the facade. "I know, dear. But I didn't know Lord Third very well when Tanaka-san was alive because they didn't get along, and I don't want to be a bother to him now just because things are a little tough sometimes. The most important things to me now are taking care of Konohamaru and making sure that he knows about, loves and honors his father."

The mention of his father got Konohamaru's attention. He left off his tussling with Miraku. "I love Papa. Mama, I wan' be shinobi!"

Naruto, gazing down at that little face, felt his heart smite him. He left his chair to crouch down beside the little boy and placed a hand on his head.

"You want to be a shinobi like your dad, huh, little guy?" His voice was soft.

"YAS! Wan' ku-nife, but Mama never let me have."

"You're not big enough to handle a kunai just yet. I'm twelve, and even I've got alot to learn about being a shinobi." With a sheepish grin, Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, I'm not that good at it, to tell you the truth; in fact, I really suck!"

As Sasuke and Miraku watched, Konohamaru's wide brown eyes marveled. "Naruto-niichan have a ku-nife?"

"Yeah, but having a kunai's not so special. When you grow up, you'll know how to use weapons and jutsu that are way cooler than kunai." Naruto ruffled the spiky brown hair. "Sometimes I want to learn to do things my senseis say I'm not ready to do, too. And. . . I can get mad when they tell me not to. But deep down, I know it's just because they care about me. You have a great mom, so listen to her and take care of her, okay?"

"How I can take care of Mama if I don't have ku-nife?" Konohamaru mourned.

"You've got to work your way up to getting to use a kunai." The little face fell at these words. Naruto hadn't the heart to leave the little tyke dejected, so, after a moment's thought, he struck the Nice Guy pose. "Tell you what, Konohamaru. Naruto-niichan will help you to become a strong shinobi!"

Konohamaru's face lit up. "I be a shinobi?"

"That's right. BELIEVE IT!"

" 'lieve it!" Konohamaru shouted. He brought his tiny fist up to meet Naruto's knuckles in a fist bump.

Miraku sweatdropped. "Shouldn't you at least talk to his mother about that first?"

Sasuke looked upon the scene. His face was inscrutable, but there was a painful tightness in his chest.

Mother, Father. . .thank you. . .for everything. He took you away from Older Brother and me before I was old enough to even imagine not having you around anymore. He felt that melting warmth in his chest become cold and his heart begin to burn with the pain of countless lacerations. But I won't let HIM take this - the love of a parent - away from anyone else. Ajisai-san and this kid won't be erased. Never again will it happen. If I have to spend my whole life training to become stronger and seeking that man, I will.

Sasuke was vaguely aware of the fact that Miraku and Naruto were calling his name. They could be faintly heard, but their voices sounded distant, their words, other than his name, were undecipherable, and they soon became background noise, noise that faded, little by little, into silence as he entered a different world.

"Mama, I wan' go to the Academy," three-year-old Sasuke moaned as he stood around the kitchen, watching his mother peel potatoes. "I wan' go. Why I can't go?"

"Oh, goodness, Sasuke. Baby, you're too young to attend the Academy. Besides, you only want to go because Oniichan's going. You'll be big enough in about three years, so be patient."

"But I wan' be a ninja! I'm bored. I wan' play with Oniichan. I don't have any toy!"

"Sasuke, for shame," Mikoto scolded. "After Miraku-no-baasan bought you so many nice gifts for your birthday last month! Oniichan isn't in school to play; he's learning. In school, unless you're training, you have to sit quietly, not romp and run around. Soon Mama will teach you your alphabets so you'll be ready to read when youre enrolled in school."

Sasuke seated himself at his mother's feet to complain. "I wan' go to school. Ohhh, UGGGHHH! I wan' go."

Mikoto turned, bearing a coriander of peeled potatoes, and narrowly avoided tripping over the little boy. "Sasuke! Good heavens, you're going to get us both hurt. If you can't behave for Mother instead of throwing tantrums, then you need to leave the kitchen!"

"I'm being good, Mama!" Sasuke insisted.

Mikoto's facial expression brooked no arguments. She pointed to the doorway. "Out, Sasuke! You're only getting in the way. Dinner will be ready soon. Go play with your toys."

"Aw, man." The dejected Sasuke dragged himself out of the kitchen and to his bedroom, where he plopped down on the carpet to try to think of a game to play with his dinosaur and his toy samurai.

Much to his delight, no sooner had he decided to have Izunasaurus aid his heroic master in a battle against an evil black dragon and his samurai henchmen than Sasuke heard the front door opening. Abandoning his playthings, he went flying through the kitchen and out into the living room to greet nine-year-old Itachi, his brother, who had come home from that magical, mysterious place that he referred to as the Academy.

"Oniichan!" He latched onto poor Itachi's leg before he had time to get a word out. "You finally came home. I missed you! Come on; now you can play games to me! Okay, what do you want to play first?"

"Sasuke." Mikoto cut in sternly. "You know Oniichan has Academy homework to do, so don't pester him. He can play with you when he's finished doing that."

Little Sasuke was crestfallen. "But, Mama," he protested, though he knew from experience that there was no arguing with his mother when she put her foot down. He released the hem of his brother's shirt and pouted at the floor.

Itachi spoke up, however. "It's ok, Mom. I can do my homework later. Besides, it's easy."

The sun rose on Sasuke's face. Mikoto shook her head, but had to smile in spite of herself.

"Good grief. Well, I know you wouldn't slack off when it came to your homework. Just be sure you and Sasuke are back in before duskfall, dear." She turned back to the stove.

The overjoyed little one and his kind older brother took off for the outdoors. With games of hide-and-seek, stone-skipping and "playing pretend" and bouts of tickling and roughhousing in general, the hours seemed to fly by for Sasuke. Itachi, prodigious little shinobi-in-training though he was, couldn't seem to satisfy or keep pace with his tireless little brother, and before the sun began to wane, he was forced to sit down, exhausted, while Sasuke raced around him in circles.

"Oniichan, get up! I know 'nother game we can play."

"I'm sure you do," Itachi groaned. "Sasuke, Oniichan's tired. How can you not he worn out after doing all that?"

"Mama made me take a nap," Sasuke informed him calmly. "Come on, 'Tachi, let's see who can do more cool stuff!"

" 'Cool stuff' like what, exactly?"

Sasuke skidded over and plopped down at his brother's feet. "See who can stop breathing longer and who can jump over the creek and not fall in and jump more high in the air."

"Sasuke, Oniichan doesn't want to do anything that could get you hurt. Mom and Dad would be mad."

"UGGGHHHHH! Just don't want me to be cool and get strong to be a ninja!"

Itachi was rescued from further arguing by Mikoto, who could be heard calling them from the kitchen door. "Boys! Father's home, and dinner's ready!"

"How it's time to go inside?" Sasuke groused as he rode back to the house piggyback-style. "Not even dark."

Itachi, glancing over his shoulder at the little complainer, couldn't help but to remark, "Just a moment ago, you said you weren't tired, but as soon as Mom said playtime was over, you were all out of energy and needed a ride."

Sasuke flushed. "No, I not!"

"You're a little fraud. God, you're heavy, 'touto."

"Be quiet, 'Tachi. I'm telling Papa you cheat to me when we play hide-and-seek!"

At the dinner table, with clothes changed and face and hands washed, Sasuke was as good as his word. "Papa! I was playing hide-and-seek with Oniichan today, and I almost win, but then he used a clone to trick me and run away. That's cheating!"

Fugaku didn't respond with the show of fatherly sternness that his younger son had hoped for. To the contrary, his face registered surprise.

"You've learned the Clone Jutsu, Itachi?"

Sasuke didn't miss the fact that this news had impressed and pleased their father. He was reminded that Papa loved to see his sons accomplish things. It seemed that Oniichan was always accomplishing things, hitting milestones that were still so very far out of Sasuke's reach.

This thought didn't discourage Sasuke for long, however. His face brightened. "Papa, I bet I can learn Clone Jutsu, too!"

A calloused brown hand came to rest on Sasukes head. Fugaku gave his hair a brief combing with his fingers before drawing away. "You will learn when you're old enough for the Academy, son."

"I wan' learn now. Oniichan, after dinner, maybe you can show me how to do it!"

Mikoto quashed the notion instantly. "Homework, boys!"

Not for the first time that day, Sasuke deflated.

Itachi, moving closer to him, startled Sasuke with a two-fingered poke to the brow. The regret was so apparent in his face and in his sad smile that Sasuke couldn't fail to be mollified.

"Sorry, 'touto. Maybe some other time."

The years passed. In Sasuke's memory, they went by as swiftly as the hours of that one golden afternoon they'd spent playing hide-and-seek had. Oniichan had attained the rank of genin not long after that day. When Sasuke, at six years old, was at last old enough to be enrolled in the Academy, Itachi's strength and skill had secured him a position in the ANBU Black Ops. The afternoon before Sasuke's first day of school and Itachi's first day on the job as an ANBU agent was another one of those afternoons that began with Sasuke dragging Itachi outdoors to play and train, but ended all too soon. This time, it was Itachi himself, not their mother, who, after retrieving the shuriken they'd fired from their target, abruptly cut their outing short.

"All right, Sasuke. It's time to go."

Sasuke was scandalized by the unfairness of it all. "Time to go?! Older Brother, it's not even dark, and you said you'd teach me a taijutsu move before you started your new job!"

"I know. But I've been busy. I have to attend a meeting to orientate me for my new job. I must prepare."

Sasuke's fists clenched. "You're breaking your promises again. You're such a big fat liar!"

Itachi only smiled, much to Sasuke's irritation. He beckoned him closer, however, piquing his curiosity, and Sasuke, expecting a hug or a whispered secret. hurried forward. His hopes were dashed when one of those two-fingered pokes to the forehead stopped him in his tracks and caused him to stumble backwards.

"I'm sorry, 'touto. Maybe some other time."

Sasuke's disappointment turned into anger. He erupted. "Stop doing that! I hate it when you do that! Why won't you talk to me anymore, Older Brother? We used to be friends, but now all you do is tell lies and keep secrets from me. Is it because you think you're too grown-up and cool for me now?"

Sasuke could see in Itachi's eyes that his words had found some mark or another, and the pained expression on his brother's face afforded him a moment's satisfaction. Then the anger and vindictiveness abandoned him. He had actually saddened Big Brother. He cast his eyes down just before they began to dampen.

"Sasuke." Unexpectedly, Itachi crouched down, and Sasuke found himself staring directly into his face. "Come here. I guess it IS time I talked to you …about some things."

They had their little talk during walk home, with Sasuke, who was almost, but not quite, ashamed because he was a big boy of six years old, being carried piggyback-style as he had when he had been a preschooler.

"Oniichan wants to spend time with you, and I know you want to be with me. But starting tomorrow, we'll both be busier than before. I start my job as an ANBU agent, and you'll be learning to become a strong shinobi. So we won't see as much of eachother as we did before."

"I want to be a strong shinobi," Sasuke admitted. "I - I wish I could be as strong as you so I could be an ANBU ninja, too. But instead, we have to be apart for hours every single day, and sometimes I don't even get to see you before I have to go to bed." He then asked the question that he'd never mustered enough courage to ask their parents for fear of sounding foolish. "Older Brother…why's it such a big deal for us to get strong, anyway? What's so important about it when we have to spend so much time doing it that we hardly ever get to have fun together?"

As he walked, Itachi reached up to stroke one of the little hands that hugged his neck. " 'touto, the duty of a shinobi is to protect and defend his family members, his comrades and, most importantly, his village, especially the weak and the innocent who live within it. To that end, a shinobi has to make sacrifices sometimes." His steps slowed, and his voice became soft. "I know it's difficult to understand. But I believe it won't be long before you're old enough to serve the village alongside Oniichan. By then, you'll understand."

Few things irritated Sasuke more than the phrase, "You'll understand when you're older," in any of its variations. But he forgot that in his wonder and delight at the thought that he'd be ready to fight alongside his powerful older brother anytime soon.

"Older Brother…you really think so?" 

"I do." Sasuke could hear the smile in Itachi's voice. "But you'll have to listen to Mom, Dad and Oniichan and study hard in order to do that. Don't be reckless and try to become a shinobi overnight."

A ribbon of pink crossed Sasuke's nose. Older Brother really did believe in him. He'd train diligently and study hard until the day came when he would get to stand beside his brother as a comrade, as a true shinobi, and see the looks in Itachi's, Mom's and Dad's eyes.

"Okay, I will. And …I guess it's ok if we're busy, then - you with your job and me with my training…just so long as you still spend time with me every once in a while."

Older Brother's superior to me. He's stronger, swifter and more intelligent. And yet - he's never had much of an interest in fighting for fighting. He's always been gentle. When we lost Mother, Father and the others, he left the ANBU Black Ops and took on the less-active post of village perimeter guard. He stopped talking to me about being a shinobi completely. He started making excuses not to train with me the way he did once in a while before.

Older Brother's the only link I have left to Mother and Father. I see Father in him whenever he shows his strength, but when he smiles at me, makes bentos for me, I see Mother's smiling face shining through. The back of Older Brother's black head, the trees and the houses, began to blur, then faded away, as Sasuke returned to earth. I lost Mother's smile. I won't - I couldn't bear to lose Older Brother's smile. It's for that reason that I can't stop, no matter what Older Brother says. I have to train hard, become powerful - even more powerful than Older Brother did. I must find the person who took those who were precious to me away from me - find him and eradicate him - because I know - I know in the depths of my soul that he will be back and that if I fail to kill him, he'll take away all of the precious people that I have left.


End file.
